Forget me not
by Neko11
Summary: „Oh, you know your 'friends' well, don't you? But let me tell you one thing, Strawhat: Things like 'friends' or 'trust' are meaningless when I'm around. All the memories you've made with them, everything they know about you... it doesn't exist anymore." (Now it's up to Luffy to beat a man who manipulates memories and make his friends remember him.)
1. Forgotten

**What's this? A new story? HELL YES! :D I hope you enjoy this one. **

**Dislcaimer: I don't own One Piece!**

**YXYXYXYXYXY**

**- Forget me not -**

**Chapter 1 – Forgotten**

"_Who the hell are you?! Guys, emergency! We have an intruder!"_

"_Wha- It's me! Billy! What is wrong with you?!" _

"_Aah! Enemy!"_

"_What are you doing on our ship? You are marine or somethin'?" _

"_I'm me, Billy! What's going on? Hey, Len, don't you recognize me?" _

"_Eh, why would I?!" _

"_N-no way! You lost your memory? It's your doing, isn't it?! Leave my crew alone! What do you want?!" _

"_Ch, you are so plain. Like everyone else. Always demanding stuff, always shouting and acting all protective. I'm so sick of guys like you." _

"_You-!" Billy was stopped as a hand grabbed his shoulder. _

"_What do you think you're trying to do with our captain, punk?" _

_His eyes widened. "But I'm the captain!" _

"_Heh, no way. I would know about that. Now get your ass off our ship!" Len pulled out his sword, grinning darkly._

"_H-hey, stop it! STOP!"_

"Uaaah!" With a shout, Billy shot up, drenched in sweat. He grabbed his forehead, panting hard.

His other hand caressed his shoulder, fingers feeling an old scar that would never really heal. The skin was torn and rough.

"Another nightmare. It's been five years and I still get them..."

He got up and looked outside. His house was on top of a hill and he had a nice view onto the small town. He even saw the harbor and the ocean that stretched out before him, wide and blue. His expression darkened.

How he loved the ocean. How he'd enjoyed his life with them, before he showed up. If only they hadn't met him... if only he had been stronger...

He sighed and dressed himself. After brushing his teeth he went downstairs to make some coffee. He was one of the people who couldn't think clearly without one in the morning. When his coffee was ready, he looked outside again and spotted something tiny at the horizon.

Squeezing his eyes, he tried to distinguish it. "Eh? Could it be a ship?" Billy waited a bit until it drew nearer, and suddenly he recognized the flag.

"The Strawhat Pirates?"

"Yosh, guys! We're here!" Luffy shouted from Sunny's head, and Chopper cheered.

"New island! I wonder if it's nice there?" The doctor asked. Luffy laughed.

"Well, I wonder if they have nice food there?"

Nami sighed with fake disappointment. "Sheesh, you'll never change, will you?"

"Nope! Shishi!"

It didn't take long for the Sunny to reach the harbor. A few people stopped their work and stared; they weren't scared but it seemed as if they were slightly mistrustful. The Strawhats were used to panicking people so they didn't mind them looking at them like this. As long as no one ran away in fear, everything was fine.

"Well, I need to go re-stock our food supply, Nami-san." Sanji said, looking around. "Ooh, this is actually a really nice bay."

"Yoho! I really want to see more of this island! It's been a while since we've done a little socializing." Brook laughed.

Franky nodded. "Yeah, true. And I want to buy some screws for my new project. A little cola would be nice, too."

Chopper hopped up and down in excitement. "Mhm! I wanna go see the town, too! And I need some new bandages since Zoro used up so many last time...",

"Hey! You forced me to wear them!" Zoro protested grumpily. Sanji smirked and took a long drag of his cigarette.

"Heh, Marimo you always bleed like a stabbed pig after a fight."

"You wanna tell me something, idiot cook?!" Zoro growled.

"OKAY! Let's stop this now!" Nami shoved them apart, feeling her good mood drop already.

"Hai, Nami-san!"

"Whatever."

"So, Sanji-kun, Franky and Chopper need to go shopping, Brook and me want to see the island. What about you two?" Nami asked Usopp and Robin.

"Well, a little walk around town would be nice indeed. We've been sailing for quite a while after all."

Usopp nodded. "Yup, I really want to get off the ship for a while, too, before I get the cabin fever."

Nami sighed. " Okay, so basically everyone wants to go. We don't have to ask Luffy to know what he wants of course. So what about Sunny?"

"Can we leave now? I really wanna gooo!" Luffy whined pitifully.

"Be patient captain. Don't stress Nami so much." Sanji reminded him. Luffy hung over the railing, looking like he was about to die. "Ughgh I hate waiting...," The others were used to his complaining, so he was coldly ignored.

"We could hide the ship. As far as I could tell, the shore east ways is uninhabited. And this town seems really peaceful. I don't think it's a problem to leave the Sunny alone for a few hours." Robin suggested.

"But what if someone tries to steal her? I mean, isn't it a bit too dangerous? Everyone already saw us here!" Usopp asked. Franky put on his sunglasses and lay an arm around Usopp's shoulder.

"Na, she'll be fine. I can block the wheel for a while so that she can't be steered when we're gone. She has a complicated steering system which I designed personally, so I doubt there is anyone who can un-block it."

"Well, if you say so...", Usopp shrugged.

"You can always stay back and protect her if you want, Usopp." Zoro smirked as he readied his swords.

"Wha-wha- no! I mean, I really trust Franky there! Sunny'll be okay on her own!" Usopp flailed with his arms, sweating.

"Suit yourself." The swordsman commented dryly.

"Good idea, Robin!" Nami praised. "Okay, then get ready to sail to that shore and then we'll go shopping!"

"Yeah!" Luffy and Chopper cheered, dancing. "I can't wait to explore! And I wanna eat meat from this island!"

"Yes, yes. What else?" Nami shook her head but smiled despite herself. Her captain had always been like that, and she doubted he would change anytime soon. Some things would always be the same.

After they lay ashore at the empty beach, they went their own ways. Some of them stayed together like Sanji and Chopper; Brook, Usopp and Franky were a group as well as Nami and Robin. Only Luffy and Zoro went on their own, the captain just stormed off with a yell of happiness and everyone could guess what he was planning.

Zoro scratched his head and went into another direction, searching for a bar or anything to get some booze.

"Luffy! Come back at sunset, you hear me? Be on time! You too, Zoro!" Nami shouted after them.

"Yeehees!" Luffy answered from quite a distance, then he was gone. Zoro only grumbled something under his breath and turned a corner.

The others watched them with mixed expressions. "Why do I feel like a parent watching his kids go to a party for the first time?" Usopp wondered aloud.

"I know what you mean...", Nami commented. "Well, it's gonna be okay. Let's just enjoy the day and meet up later again, right?"

"Yeah!" Franky agreed, and off they went.

Little did they know they were being watched the whole time. The shadow behind the rocks was a skilled man, silent as if he was air. He only smiled dangerously as the crew went to the town and followed quietly.

-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-

Luffy wandered around aimlessly, excited about all the things to see and just happy to be on solid grounds for a while. The town was nice, gentle people and a happy atmosphere ruling.

Suddenly, something caught his nose and he immediately began drooling. "What's this? Mmmh smells like meat!"

Luffy dashed around, sniffing his way to the source of the delicious smell. "Ah! There! Wait for me, meat!"

He soon reached a small, old looking house on top of a hill. He hardly took the time to look at the beautiful scenery and just went in through the door. It wasn't locked so Luffy just entered as if it was natural to something like this.

Billy got the shock of his life when some scrawny guy suddenly entered his kitchen and demanded some yummy food as if he owned the place. The man was flabbergasted beyond anything and he could only stutter in shock.

"Wha-who the hell are y-you? What are you doing in my house?"

"Hi there, ossan! I'm Luffy, and I'm gonna be king of the Pirates!" Luffy declared proudly, sitting down at the table. "Ossan, it smells really good in here!"

"King of the Pirates...?" Billy blinked and he glanced at the stove with two pots on it. "Uh, thanks, I was just about to cook me a meal and all...," suddenly he seemed to remember his own anger and he pointed his wooden spoon accusingly at Luffy.

"That's got nothing to do with it! How can you just enter someone's house like that? That's rude, brat!"

Luffy looked like a kicked puppy. "Eeh? But I'm so hungry and your food seems so yummy...", his stomach came to aid and grumbled pathetically to emphasize his statement.

Billy gulped and pulled back his wooden spoon at the sad picture. "Ah, well, fine." He was just too soft. "But you have to promise you leave immediately after the meal and never come back... Luffy, was it?"

This managed to bring back Luffy's spirits and he beamed. "Really? You're really nice, ossan! Thanks!"

Billy turned to the stove. "Really, what am I doing?" But this boy seemed like a nice guy, even though the name Luffy rang a bell. He was captain of the Strawhat Pirates, wasn't he? Not as threatening as he had expected him to be. Besides, some company would be really nice for once.

"I'm Billy, by the way."

"Nice to meet ya, Billy-ossan!"

When the food was served, Billy began to regret letting the boy stay. He ate as if it was his last meal, and it wasn't nowhere near enough to fill that kid's stomach. Despite his horror at the beginning, Billy soon leaned back and laughed heartily. So much live in his old, quiet house. It was a nice change.

They began talking about random stuff, and Luffy began to like the guy already. He gave him food, so of course he liked him, but he also enjoyed talking and soon found out he was an ex-pirate as well.

"So what happened? You went into retirement?" Luffy asked.

Billy tensed slightly. "Ah, well, it's a long story... there was this guy we met once, and he destroyed us."

Luffy cocked his head to the side. "What about your friends?"

"I don't know. But you need to be really careful. You better leave soon before you catch his interest. He is often seen in town but everyone tries to avoid him, me all above. He will make your friends turn against you."

Luffy only smiled at him, all worry from before falling off him. "Don't worry if it's about that! My friends will never betray me!" The way that he stated it indicated Luffy really put a lot of trust into his crew. This only made it worse for Billy.

He only looked at him sympathetically. "I hope you're right, boy. I really do." He took a sip of his tea. "I used to have a really strong crew, too, and we were friends. Not just captain and crew, but a real family. But there was this guy on this island... he travels around a lot but when we landed here he suddenly showed up and hunted us down. He took my crew, and I haven't seen them since that night. I don't know what happened to them."

Luffy's smile slipped from his face. "He took your crew?"

Billy stared into nothingness, captured in old, painful memories. "He is a dangerous man. I didn't stand a chance. I settled down here in hopes my crew may come back to me one day, but the only one I've spotted a few times is _him_. But I can't beat him. I'm in his hands."

Luffy seemed to contemplate it for a while. He didn't like what he heard. "Why didn't you follow him? He got your friends and you just let him sail off with them?"

Billy smiled tiredly, and he looked really worn out all of sudden. "Boy, I'm old and tired. I would only be killed. I've tried many times, but it was not enough and I got myself nearly killed. In the end I'm just too weak to get up once more. I thought I was strong enough to fight my way through the New World, but he is the one man I cannot beat."

Luffy frowned. "But it's your crew! You gave up on them?"

Billy didn't answer. Luffy's frown deepened. This was something he couldn't understand. If it were him, he would hunt that guy down and fight for his friends even if he had to die for it. The way Billy talked about his crew seemed really gentle, like they were the most precious thing in the world. So why-? Was that weird guy really that dangerous?

Luffy couldn't pity him as much as he wanted to. But someone who wasn't ready to put his life on the line for his crew was a lost case. It's guys like Billy who shouldn't call themselves pirates and walk around whining about lost friends. Even though, Luffy couldn't say it out loud. He watched the hunched form of Billy, sitting there mourning and regretting, and Luffy knew regret could eat you up. His eyes softened and he stretched casually as if to make light of the situation.

"It's okay, ossan! We are strong! If he shows up, I'll beat him!" Luffy grinned, and it tugged at Billy's own lips. He couldn't help but smile back. Maybe he was the one Billy had waited for all these years. Maybe he could really do it.

"You're a funny guy." Billy commented and Luffy only laughed at that. Then he took a look out of the window and realized the sun was already setting. He got up, a smile still lingering on his lips as he patted Billy's shoulder.

"Ooops! It's really late! I gotta go now or Nami's gonna be mad at me again. Thanks for the meat, old man! See ya!" With that said, he stormed out like a whirlwind and was gone in a blink of an eye.

Billy shook his head. "Sheesh, I really hope he's gonna be okay... he seems so reckless." But maybe, after all these years, there was someone who could really beat him? Maybe Strawhat could do what he'd failed to do years ago.

Billy sat down and watched the sun disappear behind the trees. He could only hope.

-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-

When the crew met up at the town's entrance, almost everyone was on time and Nami was positively pleased. They chatted about the day's events and what they bought, and went back to the shore.

Everything seemed fine, when suddenly, Zoro halted, glaring back.

"What's the matter?" Usopp asked, also stopping.

"We're being followed." He stated darkly, eyes scanning the forest.

Robin nodded. "I have noticed that as well. Whoever it is, he is really good."

"Eeeh?!" Usopp, Nami and Chopper hugged, and Brook looked like he wanted to join.

"Get out, we know you're there!" Zoro shouted, and soon enough a dark figure stepped out.

The tension was running high, but they relaxed a little. The man didn't seem dangerous, at least his appearance wasn't. He was tall but slim, and had a pale skin. His lilac hair fell in curls over his ears but didn't quite reach his shoulders.

"What do you want?" Sanji asked coolly. The guy smiled rather kindly, but suddenly he vanished.

"Ah! He's gone!" Chopper panicked. Everyone's eyes darted around quickly, trying to find him, and suddenly he appeared right between them. He was light on his feet, like a feather, and touched them all at their shoulders save for Luffy. Before anyone could even so much as blink, he was behind them, smirking.

"Well, well, well, aren't you a little bit careless? Letting me touch you all without putting up a front, that's really boastful."

"You son of a bitch!" Zoro growled, furious. This guy was really fast!

"Do you want to fight, jerk?!" Luffy shouted, lifting his fists.

"Ah, it's you. I have red the news about Dressrosa. Doflamingo and such. Nice riot you stirred up again, Strawhat. I have always wanted to meet you since it would be an interesting encounter."

"What is your problem? If you want to fight then just say so! I'm not interested in your boring talk." Luffy said, pissed by this guy's demeanor. The others seemed tensed as well; no one really liked the sudden turn of events. Something about this guy was off. They had never heard of him, but no one would go face an entire crew on his own unless he was really strong.

Instead of getting angry, the man just laughed heartily.

"I guess it's about time I introduced myself. My pleasure, Strawhat Luffy. I'm Chakena." With that said, he landed gracefully before Luffy and shook his right hand. Luffy immediately pulled back, glaring.

"You're that guy Billy-ossan warned me about! What do you want?!" He spat, ready to get into action. Chakena looked mildly surprised but he still smiled.

"Oh, really? He did? Well, he was the only one who can still remember everything, and I enjoy watching his misery day by day. Maybe he hopes for you to defeat me? Silly old man."

"Shut up! You can shove that stupid talking up your ass!" Luffy hissed, hating this guy already. The others were highly alerted, ready to fight as well even though they were momentarily confused.

"You know this guy, Luffy?" Zoro asked, hands at his swords' hilts.

"Yeah, ossan told me about him. Be careful guys, he's dangerous." Luffy answered, his eyes never leaving Chakena.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's kick his butt!" Franky suggested, reading his hand.

"Oh oh oh, what's that? You won't let me have fun with you? It's been a while since a crew like yours came to the island, and I really enjoyed toying with Billy and his _friends_." He spat out the word friends venomously as the crew enclosed in on him.

"Enough of your pointless talk. Get ready." Luffy muttered, knuckles cracking. Nami frowned, this guy was planning something.

"I guess I gotta try this out with you, too, Strawhat boy. I wonder how you'll react." Chakena informed him before he lifted his hands. Robin crossed her arms, ready to stop him but no one knew exactly what he was about to do. Usopp readied his weapon, and so did the others.

"Wha-what is he doing?" Sanji jumped up and was about to kick Chakena, but he dodged it easily. Zoro and Luffy charged in next, ready to slash and punch him, but Chakena was faster. With a huge smirk, he made use of his devil fruit powers and uttered the devastating words before anyone could stop him.

"Roronoa Zoro... Tony Tony Chopper, Blackleg Sanji, Soulking Brook, Franky, Usopp, Nami and Nico Robin!_ Memories of Monkey D. Luffy: Forgotten." _

**YXYXYXYXYXYX**

**Ooh, Chakena has showed up! Beware, he is a real jerk. So what will Luffy do, now that his friends turned against him? **

**Next chapter is coming soon, but please leave me a review wherever you like it or not. The more reviews I get, the faster I update :D **

**~Neko11**


	2. Replacement

**Can I just say how utterly disappointed I am? Everyone keeps on 'following' this story, but only one person bothered to actually review. Seriously guys, it's not that hard to leave a comment. You don't even have to log in. I don't like the 'I-won't-update-if-you-don't-review' method that much but I'm not really motivated to continue a story no one reviews even though some people read it.**

**Anyways, thanks a lot to nani-onigiri for your awesome review, you rock! This chapter is for you and I hope you'll like it :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

**YXYXYXYXYXYX**

**Chapter 2 - Replacement**

"What?!" Luffy turned to his friends in alarm.

He watched in shock as each of his friends cringed one by one as if they got an electric shock. Then they suddenly froze and stared ahead with wide eyes.

"Guys, what's wrong? Hey you! Stop that!" Luffy roared furiously when he realized his crew was completely unresponsive. He ran up to Brook and shook him by the shoulders, hoping for any kind of reaction that wasn't there. The same for Nami, Chopper, Usopp... it was useless, they didn't move an inch upon skin contact or talking/shouting. It was as if they were in some kind of shock.

"You asshole!" Luffy turned to Chakena. "What the hell have you done to my crew?!"

Chakena laughed. "This is my devil fruit power." He wriggled his fingers at that. "I can manipulate memories to the extend where I am able to erase them if I want to. They won't recognize you when they come to their senses."

"What?!" Luffy's body shook upon those devastating news. This couldn't be happening. Hadn't they tried to be really careful, now that they finally got into the New World? How did this stupid guy manage to show up out of nowhere and just harm his friends? Not only that, but he'd been so excited for this island, too.

Luffy was pissed off to the point his fists shook with silent rage. There was no way he was going to let him escape. No one would pull off some crazy shit like that and get away without a beating. And Luffy swore to himself he would beat all the 'I-can-steal-memories' shit out of him.

"Zoro! Robin, Usopp! Can you hear me?!" Luffy tried one more time, but the result was the same. He roared in frustration and stormed to Chakena. "Fine, have it your way! I'll make you turn them back!"

"Futile attempts. I just took your crew away and they will trust me, and not someone like you."

This only added more fuel to the fire. "Someone like me? They are my friends! We trust each other with our lives!"

"Oh really? Well, let's see about that." Chakena answered and jumped onto a nearby rock to escape Luffy's swinging leg.

"You can talk all you want, but I know that they are loyal!" Luffy jumped after him but he was faster than expected. "Stand still and fight me like a man, you coward!"

"Heh, no thanks. I'm not foolish enough to believe I can beat you with raw strength. I have my own ways of fighting. By the way, I wouldn't turn my back on them if I were you, who knows what might happen?" Chakena said, highly amused as he dodged Luffy's punch.

„Shut your stupid mouth! I don't believe you! I am the captain of this ship, and this is MY crew! I trust my frie-", a sudden pain made Luffy stop deadly in his tracks. His eyes widened and his breath hitched as the smell of blood was in the air. Trembling, Luffy slowly looked down to the tip of a sword exciting his stomach.

He paled visibly, but not only because of the sudden blood loss. He'd recognize that sword anywhere. But how was this possible? He would never- he could never- why _him_?!

„Z-Zoro...?" Luffy turned his head to look back at his swordsman, Chakena momentarily forgotten. Zoro only stared back with icy coldness, no emotion on his face other than clear disgust. It was the kind of face Zoro only showed to enemies, but never to friends. _Never_ to him. Up until now.

„What-what are you doing?" Luffy stuttered, completely taken aback. It hurt like hell, but the fact that his first comrade had driven that sword through him made the pain ten times worse. He didn't understand.

With a sick squelching sound, Zoro pulled the katana out of Luffy who stumbled a bit and looked at the bloody blade in morbid fascination. Chakena chuckled about that, leaning back on the rock with one brow raised.

„What was that you were about to say? Did I hear the silly little word 'trust'?"

Luffy spit blood on the ground and shot around. „You jerk! You are the one controlling Zoro, aren't you?! He'd never attack from behind!"

The other man laughed. „Oh, you know your 'friends' well, don't you? But let me tell you one thing, Strawhat: Things like 'friends' or 'trust' are meaningless when I'm around. All the memories you've made with them, everything they know about you... it doesn't exist anymore."

Luffy's legs grew weak. „You mean... you really...?" Was this what Billy had felt? This couldn't be happening-

Chakena smirked. „Yep. I've erased it all. Roronoa is acting on his own accord."

It was as if someone had told him a huge meteor would destroy the earth. No, even worse than that. Everything he'd achieved so far, everything he'd fought for was shattered into pieces. Emotions came tumbling down nearly as hard as the reality and he had to breathe in deeply not to throw up.

"You... you asshole! They are my friends and not your toy!" Luffy shouted in fury. "How dare you manipulate them!"

"Me? What are you saying? Those guys are my nakama. Zoro, if you would be so kind?" Chakena replied coolly, waving in Zoro's direction.

"Your nakama?!" Luffy was just about to hit him square in the face when the ex-pirate hunter suddenly blocked his fist with his swords, glaring him down.

"Zoro!" Luffy looked like he'd seen a ghost, flinching back. But he managed to regain his composure quickly. "Don't stand in my way! What is wrong with you?!"

"Shut up. You are getting on my nerves." Zoro only grumbled, tightening the grip on his swords. "Get lost or you'll regret ever stepping in our way. If yo want to fight, then fight."

"What? No! I don't want to fight you, it's him I want to beat up!" Luffy argued, the feeling of horror slowly sinking in. He was fighting a losing battle. "Guys, it's me! Luffy! Don't tell me all of you really lost your memory?!"

"What the heck is he talking about? Who is that kid?" Sanji frowned, looking rather pissed off. Sanji was often ticked off by him since he always stole food, but Luffy had never seen his cook regarding him with such a look. "I really thought we could take a break from all those bounty hunters once in a while."

"I'm not a bounty hunter! Sanji, you have to fight back! It's me! You _have_ to remember! Snap out of it!" He couldn't stop the panic that swung within his voice. He could see it all before his inner eye. It was like a card house slowly crumbling down, and he was standing on top. When he looked down, all he could see was a dark abyss.

"Luffy? That's a funny name." Nami commented dryly. "I'm sorry, _Luffy_, but this is the first time I see you, and I've been part of this crew the second longest." She spit out his name as if it was some kind of disease.

Luffy couldn't help the pang of pain in his heart when she looked at him as if she'd never met him before. With clenched fists and a heavy frown he realized they _all_ looked at him like that. His _friends_ didn't recognize him at all. To them, he was just some stranger. Whatever Chakena told him, he didn't lie and he certainly hadn't exaggerated.

"Nami, guys... ,"

"Wait, Luffy? That name rings a bell." Usopp piped up, scratching his head. Luffy looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Usopp! You know me, don't you?"

Suddenly, the sniper let out a silent cry and hid behind Zoro. "Oh oh yes! It's him! I recognize him! It's Monkey D. Luffy, and he's really famous! I- I think he got a huge bounty on his head, too."

Luffy visibly sagged. But he couldn't give up. "Guys, I don't know what he did to you or how he did it, but you have to believe me! That guy's a liar and I'm gonna kick his -", again he was interrupted by Zoro's swords. Luffy jumped back, the crew's circle slowly closing around him.

"Threaten our captain one more time and I'll slice off your head." Zoro spat in his face with such venom it made Luffy cringe.

"But he is not the captain, it's me!" The only response he got was a silent snicker from Chakena and a handful of glares. No one believed a shred he told them. In their eyes he was the liar and the true victim was 'their' captain Chakena.

Luffy may not be the brightest bulb on the shelf but slowly he began to understand what had happened. He didn't want to believe it; tried to deny it stubbornly, but the facts were staring at him with an ugly smirk.

Chakena had misplaced the memories they had of Luffy by himself. When Luffy thought about the time he beat up Arlong, the strawhats saw Chakena kicking Arlong's butt instead. To make it short: Luffy, captain of the Strawhat pirates, had been wiped off the plate.

All those amazing adventures, all they laughter and tears and efforts they'd put in... and it took only one person to destroy it all in a matter of seconds.

"There's no place for you here, asshole." Franky told him, and something inside Luffy broke. He wasn't afraid of anything, he would face all dangers and enemies ahead with a laughter, but only if his crew were behind him. All of sudden, they didn't trust him anymore and followed that weird guy's orders like they had known him forever. Like he was the one who shared those friends around him by his own strength.

Luffy was too overwhelmed with shock to react anymore. They way his crew growled at him.. he couldn't stand it. He never thought something like this would happen. The utter trust he had in them all was made fun of and he felt like there was nothing he could do now.

As they sneered at him, and Usopp even looked scared of him, he sagged inwardly. Luffy hardly put up a shield when Franky approached him and kicked him hard in the face. It sent him flying against a tree and in the dirt where he lay, defeated and homeless, abandoned by his crew.

Usopp peeked at him warily. "That's it? Could've sworn he'd go totally apeshit on us with that huge bounty."

"You're right, that was easy. I thought he would put up more defense." Sanji commented, glancing at Luffy.

Zoro turned away while putting his swords back in their sheaths. " The fight is over, don't bother with him anymore. Probably wasn't his day."

"What kind of freak was that? We never meet normal people." Nami muttered.

"Well done, guys. Now let's forget about that idiot and go grab a bite. I'm starving!" Luffy heard Chakena yell with an expressionless face. He could only lay there and stare into the sky with empty eyes. Minutes before, he'd be the one to shout for dinner, not Chakena. He got replaced.

He listened to the fading sounds of their food steps and didn't even so much as blink. That's right, _don't bother with him anymore._

Strawhat Luffy, captain of the Strawhat Pirates, didn't exist anymore. Now he was just Luffy, and he was alone.

**YXYXYXYXYXY**

**Uh well, I got actually nothing to say... Reviews, please?**


	3. I lost

**Okay, I bitched around last chapter a lot! Sorry, I was in a bad mood. Thanks to **_**AFrenchPasserby**_** for reminding me that patience is important ;) And thanks for all your kind reviews, now I feel double-bad xD**

**As a thanks, here's a quick update and I hope I can keep up the pace! :) Well, this chapter was re-written twice, and what can I say.. I'm still not entirely happy with how it turned out. I'm meh about this. Maybe I will go back and change a bit, I don't know yet. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. **

**YXYXYYXYXYX**

**Chapter 3 – I lost**

Noises of Chakena and the others had long vanished, but the ex-captain didn't move much. He was pondering about his situation, and the only thing he wanted to know was:_ What should I do? _They were so strong together, but this was entirely new. Through all their adventures and fights, trust had never been much of a question save for that Usopp-Robin incident with CP9, but that was different_._

Luffy never had to question their loyalty towards him and they knew of his quirks and went along with it all the time. He hardly had to talk to them directly, they knew him so well that it was obvious what he'd planned for the next fight. It's not like this sort of bond could be built this easily but they had managed it well and it only grew stronger over the years. Losing this so suddenly when you thought you had come out stronger after two years just made it worse.

Soon night turned in, and when the darkness washed over him, Luffy finally got up. He had his own darkness in form of emotions to deal with and hardly bothered with his complaining stomach wound or the nagging feeling of hunger.

He was so angry and sad and frustrated it made him want to throw up, but his stomach was empty. As he marched through the forest, he grabbed a few fruits he thought were edible and nibbled at them half-heartily. After a short walk, he found a small river and knelt down. Splashing his face with the clear icy cold water felt refreshing and helped him calm a bit.

He leaned back against a tree and breathed in deeply; once, twice. It was a trick Rayleigh had taught him because he was always acting on impulse and too hasty. This wasn't some stupid little fight with marines, his friends were involved and in danger. He was the only one who could get them out of this mess, now wasn't the time to get depressed over it. It would only make Chakena happy if he knew of his sorrow, Luffy was sure.

He hissed as he thought of the jerk. "I will definitely kick his ass! He's not gonna get away!" Luffy said to no one in particular. His frustration slowly turned into fighting spirit.

He was gonna save his nakama.

Luffy looked up at the moon and wondered when the first tavern would open or if there were any restaurants in the town. If he wanted to win round 2, he was gonna need some meat, and he needed it now. And maybe some bandages for his stomach wound that kept on throbbing madly.

'_Zoro_'... Luffy's face fell when he touched the place where his friend's sword had exited. How could Chakena turn Zoro into such a low man! Luffy was boiling with anger, a picture of the swordsman and his other friends swimming before his inner eyes.

_'Don't get hung up about it now!', _he reminded himself strictly. It was no use, what happened couldn't be changed now. But he could change his and their future! With that thought in mind, he got up and made his way back through the forest in search for the town.

Morning rose and the sun pleased everyone with its glory. The townspeople were hard working like any other day, and it took a while before someone noticed the worn-out looking young man with the strawhat who dragged himself through the streets.

A man stopped and turned his worried face towards Luffy. "Are you okay? You look kinda pale- is that blood?!"

Luffy rose tired eyes at him, tongue hanging out of his mouth. "H-hungry...feed me...", he pleaded before he suddenly collapsed. The other man jumped forward to catch him and lifted him up bridal-style.

"Woah, there pal! Hey, you with me?" He tried but got no response. He looked around helplessly, feeling uneasy with a hurt stranger in his arms. Soon people began to gather, fussing and gossiping, but in the end they brought him to the town's doctor.

When Luffy awoke, it was to the smell of food and he couldn't help but think it smelled nice, but not as good as Sanji's. He shoved the thought aside and opened his eyes, sitting up slowly. Okay, he was definitely not where he'd expected to be. White everywhere, everything in this room seemed painted white, a small window... wait a minute, had he collapsed?

"Aw crap, I was just too hungry and got lost in that forest...", he said more to himself, but the doctor heard him and stepped into the room.

"Good morning. Or rather, midday." the old man told him. He sounded friendly, and Luffy decided he liked him. Even more so since he spotted a plate with food in his hands.

"Hiya there! You saved me, right? Thanks a lot, ossan! Is that for me?" Luffy said, and didn't wait for an answer as he grabbed the plate with an extended arm.

"Oh, damn! So you are a devil fruit user? That surprised me!" The doctor answered, a tad paler than before. He smiled at him awkwardly.

"So where am I? Is this your house?" Luffy asked. "Seconds, please!"

The old man blinked. "Uh, that's right, someone found you collapsed on the street so they brought you to me. I'm the town's only doctor, and I have to say you have a nasty wound there. What happened to you?"

Luffy avoided his glance. "Well, I got in some sort of fight. Anyways, I need more meat, that's gonna help me heal!"

"Eh, okay. I'll get you something. Geez, youngsters these days...", he muttered and stalked out of the room, only to return seconds later with more food. Luffy's eyes sparkled and he swallowed it whole. It wasn't much but it was better than bananas from the forest, and Luffy was in a hurry either way.

"Not so fast, you'll upset the wound!" The doctor warned him but he got ignored. "Who are you, boy? You are not from here, right?"

"No, I landed here yesterday with my crew." Luffy replied and jumped out of bed, wincing of the slight pain in his abdomen. He searched for his hat that lay atop the nightstand and put it on.

"Your crew? And lay down again, the stitches won't hold if you move around too much!"

"Yep, my crew! And now, I gotta kick someone's butt! Thanks a lot for the meal, ossan, but I really gotta go now. I've wasted too much time already! See ya." Luffy said, handed him the empty plates quickly and rushed out of the door, away from the doctor's grasp.

"H-hold it! You need to stay in bed! Wait, boy!" The doctor shouted after him in confusion. Never had he seen a patient with so much energy after such a wound! He only hoped the kid wouldn't really start a fight with someone. Who was that guy, anyway? Storming out like a whirlwind after he looked about to die only two hours before!

The doctor sighed and shook his head. "What was that?"

Meanwhile, everyone in town whirled around in surprise, watching the weird boy storm through the streets like a flash, filled to the brink with energy and only one goal before his eyes: To get his crew back.

They had to wait much too long already. Luffy still was hungry but this had to wait. Saving them was his first priority now, and he dashed towards the harbor as fast as his legs would carry him. No looking back, even though some people called out to him not to rush like this.

Soon, the strawhat boy reached the harbor. His wound protested weakly but he ignored it. His face was set in determination, he was ready to take that Chakani guy or whatever his name was on.

"Good. Now I only have to follow the beach until I get to Sunny." Luffy concluded in a moment of brightness and inhaled deeply. Then, he was off again, speeding up and only ran, ran, ran.

"CHAKENAAA!" He screamed as the fury built up to the point he couldn't hold it in anymore. He was all fired up and pissed off to no end.

At the same time, the crew and their 'captain' didn't have a clue about Luffy's furiousness. They were oblivious to the danger and just continued their daily routines. Strangely enough, they all hadn't slept well that night but couldn't quite put their finger on their uneasiness. A slight headache was the next thing they all shared in common save for Chakena who felt great.

Robin, who was on lookout, spotted a quickly moving shadow not too far off the ship. He halted suddenly, staring up with such conviction Robin frowned. An enemy that was so sure of himself was never a good sign. Besides, she remembered that face. He was the same kid from yesterday. Weird. Did he want to battle again?

She sprouted hands at her friends' sides, warning the crew about a guy nearby, looking like he wanted a fight.

Chakena sighed as if an annoying kid interrupted him and lazily got up. The others followed him out, quickly gathering on deck to take a look. The whole crew was ready to defend the ship.

Luffy stood before Sunny, glaring up at Chakena who leaned at the rail as if highly amused. "It's you again, eh?"

The black haired- boy clenched his fists and with one giant leap he landed on the deck. "Yes! I've come to kick you off my ship."

The others frowned at him. "What the- is he for real?" Franky spluttered, lifting his sunglasses.

"Who is he?" Chopper wondered aloud. "He's really persistent!"

"Hell yes I am! As if I would abandon you!" Luffy told him in a strong voice.

"Shit, he again?" Sanji cursed. Zoro only stared at Luffy with his stoic expression, before he finally said,

"He's really looking for a fight, isn't he? Still coming back after getting hurt like that... he's got a strong will. Heh, sounds interesting."

"You can have him, I'm not in the mood to fight." Chakena waved his hand. Zoro frowned at that, wondering why his captain was acting so weird. As far as he could remember, Chakena never avoided a fight like this. It's what he loved to do. It was strange but Zoro decided to drop it for now. This had time for later.

"I want to fight the captain." Luffy stated, cracking his knuckles.

"Phew." Usopp said.

Chakena rose his eyebrows. "Oh? Well, if you insist. Fine by me."

Robin rose both eyebrows, watching in interest. The kid was something else, she could feel it. Besides, he was a 'D'. "He's really bold, isn't he?"

Sanji half-smiled. "He knows what he wants, that's for sure. But he's got a lot of nerve to come here again. I wonder who exactly he is and what his reason is for fighting. And if he's a pirate, then where's his crew?"

Brook cocked his head. "Search me, I'd like to know that, too."

"Geez, why is that guy here again?" Nami complained. "Now I can't continue my sunbathing...",

"That's right, but we have an interesting little battle to watch. That ain't bad now, right?" Zoro smirked but Nami only shrugged. She wasn't really interested but it couldn't be helped.

"Uwaah, why does this have to happen...? I just wanted to land at a peaceful island for once...", Usopp murmured. No one replied as the fight began.

Chakena didn't move until Luffy approached, and he only dodged the fiery attacks Luffy suddenly threw at him. Luffy started a Gomu Gomu no Gatling attack, and all the hits missed. The Gomu Gomu no whip was useless as well, the only thing he managed to do was startling his ex-crew effectively .

It ticked the black-haired boy off. Why was this guy so damn fast? He guessed Chakena might have haki to be able to dodge so well. Okay, fine by him, he was only using 30 percent of his own power right now anyway. Chakena might be able to hold up with him now, but this would change.

"This will be over right away." The black-haired boy jumped back and outstretched his arm. "Gear 2! Jet Pistol!" Chakena's smirk dropped instantly. The punch was so fast he couldn't avoid it and it hit him squarely in the jaw. With a gasp he flew back, with some of the crew shouting his name.

"What in the world is he?! Devil fruit eater?" Usopp stammered in surprise. He had never heard of anyone like him.

"He-he's so fast!" Nami gaped at Luffy. "How did he do that? I didn't see anything!"

"Me too, that guy's not half bad." Franky agreed. Brook hummed.

"That really surprised me. I didn't see the punch either. And is that steam around him?"

"What is wrong with you, captain?" Zoro teased. Inwardly, though, he was worried. He got a bad feeling about this.

Chopper only watched in anxiousness. That looked like a broken nose...

Chakena ignored the crew and got up, wiping his bloody nose. Now he was outright pissed. It had been a long time since someone hit him, and in the face, too. When he looked around, the strawhat guy was nowhere to be found and he cursed under his breath.

"He disappeared?" Chakena muttered, not liking his sudden disadvantage.

Zoro had managed to follow Luffy's movements and spotted him soon behind Chakena. He didn't want to interfere, but Zoro sensed the stranger was physically stronger than his captain and if this would continue, Chakena would be done for. Still, he kept his mouth shut.

Luckily for Chakena, the little doctor was worried as well and spotted Luffy right behind his captain.

Strange, Chopper thought, strange that my captain is suddenly so weak. Something about this was definitely wrong, if only it wouldn't feel so unsettling! He was concerned, and when Luffy was about to attack again, Chopper called out to Chakena and warned him.

Luffy threw another fast punch but this time Chakena jumped aside, thanks to the reindeer.

"Should I help you?" Sanji asked, half worried, half amused. He had noticed, too. Their captain wasn't his usual self and didn't really seem to be strong enough to defend himself. Maybe they had all underestimated the stranger.

Chakena looked like a cat driven in a corner, but his composure slowly returned. Heh, the crew still stood behind him, supporting him. That was a good sign. There was no reason for him to feel panicked, he could still use his power on the strawhat boy.

At the same time, Luffy's eyes squeezed dangerously, and he hissed. His friends looked like they were ready to charge in. "Fine, I don't have to touch you anyway!" Luffy growled and only got a smirk as a response. Then Chakena chuckled as dangerous vibes began to fill the air around Luffy and he got in a certain stance, and Chakena could guess what was about to happen now.

"Well, we can do something about that. Monkey D. Luffy: Memories of Haoshoku Haki: Forgotten. Kenbunshoku Haki: Forgotten. Busoushoku Haki: Forgotten."

Luffy felt a sharp pain in his head and he halted, clenching his teeth. It was gone as fast as it had come, and even though Luffy forgot he sensed something seemed off. He looked at himself, trying to figure out what was missing, but it was in vain. It was completely gone, that piece of the puzzle. Luffy narrowed his eyes.

"Crap! You deleted another memory, didn't you? I'll make you stop doing that shit!"

"So what if I did? It's not like you'll miss it."

"Bastard!" Luffy didn't know what he'd forgotten, but it didn't matter. He could still smash that guy's face in with what he could remember. He didn't waste another second and shot forward with a battle cry.

"Monkey D. Luffy... memories of walking: Forgotten." Chakena said, and Luffy suddenly stumbled and fell down.

"Eh...? What happened? I can't move forward!" Luffy got up on shaky legs but when he was about to make a first step, his leg gave out and he crashed to the deck again.

"You bastard, what did you do?!" Luffy spat out, panting. He didn't understand it, but somehow he couldn't remember how he ever moved. Did he crawl all the time? No way, right? It seemed impossible! How was everyone able to do it?

The rest of the crew could only watch in amazement as Luffy was sort of robbing around but couldn't walk anymore. The concerned glances from before had vanished.

„Wha- what happened to him?" This was truly the first time Usopp could remember he saw his captain in an actual fight. They all knew Chakena was a devil fruit user, but they had no idea of his powers. Now that he thought about it, it had never really mattered what fruit he'd eaten, but why? Why had it never been important to them? How could they not be curious?

Whenever he thought about their adventures, there was a sort of haziness around Chakena, like a shadow or something, but he could clearly see his face. Still, how had he fought? Much to his annoyance the sniper had no idea how the captain had beaten Gecko Moria, even though he had watched the whole fight. To say it was unnerving was the understatement of the century.

When he looked at the rest of the crew, he saw his own expression of surprise mirrored on his friends' faces. Apparently, they didn't have any idea of Chakena's powers either. That only added to his suspiciousness.

"He isn't getting up again...? What did Chakena-bro do?" Franky murmured in amazement. Nami and Chopper watched with mouth agape. Zoro and Sanji frowned but didn't say anything.

"Apparently he forgot how to walk." Robin stated.

Brook would have blinked if he could. "He _forgot_?"

Luffy looked up at them. "He did the same to you!" he shouted. "He's erasing memories! That's why you can't remember me!"

"What are you talking about? He's our captain, he's the one who saved me and my village! How could you know anything about us?!" Nami yelled back, suddenly enraged. How dare a stranger state that her captain were tricking her? What did he know?

"Because I'm your captain." Luffy simply told her, still on all fours. "Nami, I am the one who beat that fishface Arlong! That clown over there wasn't even there! He's just playing with your minds! Look at me, I can't get up and don't even remember why!"

Robin lifted one brow at that. Obviously, he had forgotten about walking indeed, and the way he put it made a lot of sense. If what that guy said was true, then... She glanced at Chakena. No, no way.

She remembered it clearly; the day when Chakena told her to live. She'd never forget something like that, and she'd bet her life on it that it had been her captain who saved her. Not this scrawny guy. He had shouted at her to live, and promised with obsidian eyes that he would save her and give her a home. Then... well, what happened then? Robin's frown deepened. Somehow, he had pushed them all down to the train.. it seemed quite strange, but that's what happened, right?

Meanwhile, Nami was having her own doubts. She only stared at Luffy, clearly torn between denying and believing. It had been Chakena back then... she'd witnessed it! Everyone had seen it. It was impossible for something like memory-erasing to exist. But why did he know of Arlong? She'd not mentioned his name. How come she wanted to believe that guy rather than Chakena?

Nami couldn't quite put a finger on it, but there was something about him... there was something about Monkey D Luffy that attracted her to him, like he was a magnet.

"Please, you have to believe me. Guys!" Luffy tried again, hoping he could reach them finally. At least they were listening, and obviously they were having some inner conflict right now. Sanji seemed awfully nervous and couldn't stop chewing on his cigarette, while the rest of them were just staring at him, unable to decide whom to believe. This guy seemed so trustworthy, how could that be? He was a total stranger!

Chakena seemed to sense the crew's dismay as well. He glared, unpleased with the development of the situation. Never had any crew troubled him so much like these guys. The crew seemed too unsure for his liking. 'Darn it, they do have a strong bond.' The glare melted from his face, and a fake shocked expression formed instead.

He stepped forward to catch their attention. " What are you talking about, guys? Don't you believe me?! What's wrong with you all?! Zoro, Nami! You know I'd never betray you!"

This seemed to shake them a little bit out of their stupor. Flashbacks of Shabaody Archipelago played before their inner eyes. They thought of the two years of hard separation, the loneliness... and made a decision. They promised to fight for their captain and support him as best as possible, and they wouldn't pull back now that some random jerk popped up and messed with them.

Zoro pulled out his swords. "Are you pissing your pants already, captain? There's no one who'd ever betray you, not after such a long time. We know you."

Chopper's eyes hardened, "We are nakama." And everyone agreed, glaring at Luffy once again.

"You nearly got me there, asshole." Nami growled. Luffy swallowed hard. Every word his friends said was like poison because they were talking to the wrong person. His chance slipped away, through his fingers like water. They were beyond his reach already. Chakena was a talented talker and he'd looked through them quickly. He managed to catch them at their weakest point. But Luffy was stubborn, and he growled, clenching his fists.

"Okay, then I'll have to prove it to you! Watch me!" Luffy decided and jumped up. This time, much to everyone's shock, he managed to stand on his feet again and got ready to throw a punch. It didn't matter if he couldn't walk, his fist would reach Chakena either way. He was a rubber man after all, and that just came in really handy.

Obviously, Chakena had thought along those lines as well. Even if he wasn't physically strong, Chakena was clever and that shouldn't be underestimated. He raised his arms again before Luffy could react.

"Oh no, you won't. Still thinking of opposing me? Well, it's fun this way, too. Monkey D Luffy... memories of your devil fruit: Forgotten."

"NO!" But it was too late. The moment the shout left his lips, Luffy gasped and fell down again. "Wha-what... what have you done?!" His arms were shaking. He felt as if he'd just lost something really, really important but had no idea what was missing. Images of Shanks danced before his eyes, and it felt like someone had hit him in the stomach. All the wind got knocked out of him and he panted hard even though no one had touched him.

Chakena stepped closer. He bent down to Luffy, whispering so that only he could hear him. "You see? I could play with you all day if I wanted to, but it gets boring after a while. Though, it might be interesting to watch your reaction when I delete your memories of your ambition. Plus, that way I can destroy your entire pirate career." A huge smirk formed on Chakena's lips.

"Jerk!" Luffy sent glares into his direction but that didn't intimidate Chakena one bit. "I dare you...!"

"Tch. Stop me if you can." With that said, Chakena stepped back and lifted his arms again. "Monkey D. Luffy! Memories of your dream: Forgotten!"

Luffy clenched his eyes shut and squeezed his stomach wound as hard as he could. Almost immediately, the stitches ripped up. "Auuugh!" He screamed, blood dripping on the wooden deck.

Chakena's smirk was wiped off his lips. "Eh?"

Even though Luffy was in pain, he was glad. It had stopped his memories from vanishing and he could still remember the day he met Shanks crystal clear. It had worked, he'd managed to stop it! Luffy's whole body was trembling. "I-I won't forget my dream EVER!" He shouted, and Chakena actually flinched back but regained his composure quickly.

His dream was the motor of his journey, the fuel to his adventures and desire to be free. It was the reason he met his friends, and that alone was enough to fill Luffy with everything he needed. If Shanks hadn't been there, his life would have been so different, so colorless. Only thanks to him he was able to set a goal for himself and fight for it, and it was making him _happy_.

It's what he loved to do, charging forward in excitement and never backing down, like he was not backing down to Chakena now. Like he wasn't going to let him take his nakama. It was all part of his adventure – all some sort of test, Luffy thought - and Luffy would live through it and look back to it one day and think, 'I surpassed it, one step closer to my dream, and I got stronger.' Luffy was going to make sure this would happen.

At the same time, the crew could only watch. Zoro looked up at the sail, and then back at Luffy. He felt like the 'dream' of this guy somehow had to do with the strawhat on the pirate skull, and the strawhat he was wearing around his neck; it was one like they were all one. Zoro quickly shook his head. He wasn't sure who was messing with his head right now, but something was definitely wrong with this situation. He'd pledged to follow his captain Chakena everywhere, but now he began to waver again. The swordsman had no idea where it had come from, this strong current that pulled him closer to the strawhat boy.

"You will be going down. This stupid game of yours won't last forever, I'll put an end to this!" Luffy growled and wiped blood from his mouth.

"My, my, that's impressive. So you are gonna hurt yourself every time my power gets to you? Well, that way I don't even have to do that much, you'll just beat you yourself." He snickered, liking the idea already. What Luffy didn't know was that when Chakena closed his eyes suddenly, he forced a few images into the crew's minds, but to the Strawhat boy it looked like he was only thinking.

_'I'll make sure they don't even think about listening to your desperate attempts, Strawhat boy. You cannot bring them back, my power's overwhelming.' _Chakena thought to himself evilly.

The crew suddenly flinched but Luffy failed to notice this, eyes stubbornly set on Chakena. Nami blinked, then the softness and confusion in her eyes vanished, her mind set. All doubts from before were wiped aside, pushed into the back of her head and labeled as 'not relevant'.

The weird guy wasn't important anymore, all she could see was the newspaper and Chakena, bandaged up and hinting a silent, respectful bow as he pressed a hat against his chest. He looked strong on the outside, but the crew knew and had known it for the past two years: He was suffering a lot, and they hadn't been there. This would never happen again, they'd always protect him from now on. That's what they swore and that's why they trained, hardly for themselves but for him. This was important now, and nothing else.

Chakena's eyes opened again and he smiled, satisfied as he saw the cold expressions of the previously confused crew. "But honestly, Strawhat Luffy, you are boring me out of my mind. And look at all that mess you've made! Franky, that bastard smeared all his blood on your beautiful ship."

The shipwright glanced at the drops of blood on the wooden planks. "Well, I don't know what we are exactly waiting for, but I'm voting for kicking that punk off our ship already."

Luffy blanched. "No, wait!" He was sure they were starting to come back! Why were they acting so cold again? "He's just tricking you!"

"True, he's blabbering nonsense all the time. I mean, what does he even want?" Usopp asked.

"Maybe he's a bounty hunter, or even worse a marine spy." Nami suggested.

"Marine spy? He's a pirate, a pirate! He's a monster, look at his bounty!" Usopp screeched. "Anyways, he doesn't belong here. It's creepy that he's stalking us."

Chakena smirked. "Exactly."

"Sanji-kun, it's late already. Could you just-", Nami began but Sanji was faster.

"Of course, Nami-san!" The cook then glared at Luffy. "You stupid jerk, how dare you try to turn us against our captain? We've been through so much, don't believe some random stranger would be able to tear us apart! " The cook glared.

Luffy's expression darkened when he heard that. Oh the irony. "That's exactly what happened. He's the stranger that's tearing us apart, but you don't even realize."

Sanji halted suddenly, blinking down on Luffy. "Huh?" He didn't know why, but he got the feeling Luffy was telling the truth. The way he looked at him... he knew those eyes, this voice, this face... and Sanji couldn't turn away. It seemed oddly familiar and cleared up his mind for a split second.

"Crap cook, if you don't get rid of this bastard soon, then I'll cut him. And I don't care if I make a mess on the planks, that guy needs a beating." Zoro said impatiently, getting the cook's attention.

Sanji snapped out of it immediately, growling. "Alright, alright gorilla man, don't be hasty."

Luffy's eyes widened. "Sanji, wait-!" But it was too late; he kicked Luffy in the face, sending him against the railing.

"Ouch...," Luffy rubbed his head as he slowly sat up.

"Sheesh, what a blockhead you are. I told ya, Strawhat, it's useless. You are gone. You've never been part of their lives." Chakena informed him casually. "I believe it's time to leave us alone now before it's too late. My crew and I don't want to keep up with an annoying outsider."

"Shut up you damn jerk!" Luffy demanded, anger boiling up inside him like magma that threatened to come out any second. "Leave my friends out of this!"

"Heh, you want to fight? Sanji-kun, Brook-san, why don't you give him what he wants?"

Luffy's eyes widened. "They- Agh! Sanji, stop!" Avoiding another kick, Luffy did a back flip and landed behind Franky, panting. "Don't use them, asshole!"

Franky shot around and Luffy managed to dodge the punch quickly by ducking. "Damn it!" Franky cursed.

Luffy growled at Chakena, all his anger and frustration readable at his face. "There's only one way, right?" With that said, he charged (jumped) full speed at him, and Chakena flinched back two steps.

Luffy's fist was only inches away when something hard suddenly punched him into the ribs. Chopper stood protectively in front of Chakena, glaring. With a surprised yell, Luffy flew to the side and his back crashed into the railing. Before he had time to get up, hands suddenly sprouted from the ground and held him firmly in place. Luffy looked up with wide eyes and the last thing he saw before being blown off the ship was his whole crew.

It was a picture that burned into his mind and would always haunt him.

Momentarily he was so overwhelmed and just _shocked –_ even though he knew they were being manipulated – that he couldn't move and just _stared_.

They glared at him hatefully and venomously, and it _hurt_ Luffy more than all the punches and attacks they sent raining down on him a second later.

Obviously they didn't care about the destroyed railing. When Luffy flew into the sand and the crew stood on board and watched him, suffering and wounded, he got some sort of terrible deja vú. His stomach clenched painfully. They beat him once again, and he wasn't able to save them again even though he had been close to reach them. He failed to defeat Chakena once more and allowed him to toy with his friends. This really proved him how much power Chakena had over them, and that it wasn't as easy as he'd thought to win this. Luffy had miscalculated the whole situation, and now it was too late.

Luffy knelt in the sand, panting and trembling as he stared back up at them. They looked as if they were relieved to got rid of an annoying fly, and Luffy realized they were happy indeed. Happy with the way things were right now, happy to sail under Chakena's flag, happy he was gone-

Luffy shook his head. '_No_,' he thought while biting his lips painfully, '_Stop that!_'

Chakena stepped in sight with a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. "If you come back one more time, we'll kill you, boy. We're pirates after all. Sa, guys, let's leave already. We've wasted far too much time with that jerk."

The crew turned to him, smiling. "Yes!"

Luffy couldn't reply. His tongue didn't move, and his hands shook uncontrollably. He didn't have the strength to get up and face them. It was just unbearable to look into their eyes and see nothing but hate in there. He couldn't fight his own friends, and Chakena would only keep on making him forget until there was nothing left to take. Could it get any worse? He was devastated as the ship turned and they didn't spare him one more glance.

They just didn't care. He knew! Luffy knew the moment Chakena took their memories that his friends weren't 'his' anymore; they were not the same people he used to know. Still, it was too much.

Luffy thought he'd been prepared when he went on board but he still didn't have the strength to fight back right now. Tears welled up, a choking sound was made. For the first time since Ace's death, he felt hopelessness creep into his mind and he was at a loss of what to do now. They were leaving him, this time for sure. He'd wasted his chance to get them back, and now they were _leaving_.

Luffy could only stare after the leaving ship, teeth gritting as he realized,

„I'm sorry, guys... I lost."

Luffy lowered his head and cried. Loudly, earnestly, and the tears just wouldn't stop.

**YXYXYXYXYXYX**

**Not really much development there, I know... but I'll come to it soon. **

**Valeria Aurelia: My bad, this chapter wasn't any better D: Yeah, a lot will happen in-between, but I assure you there'll be a happy ending :) **

**nani-onigiri: Hehe, das hat mich grad überrascht, einen deutschen Kommentar zu kriegen, das kann ich dir sagen :D Danke dir, das freut mich so zu hören! Ich hoff, dir hat's auch dieses Mal gefallen :) **

**SniperKingSogeking0341: S-sorry~ T^T This was sad again.. but thanks for reviewing, it'll get better I promise :)**

**FlightWulf: Okay, first of all, thank you for this really, really awesome review. I was gaping at my screen when I saw the length of it! O-o but I love your review, I don't mind it long :D I'll answer it per PM since it would use up too much space here ;D **

**FindingNo one: Thank you! :D Indeed... I feel like they could have made this filler much more amazing. You're very much welcome, and thanks for your lovely review =3**

**AfrenchPasserby: I'm glad I could convince you! :D I hope this chapter was okay, too, I'm not too sure about it somehow O.o Yeah, you're right I really overreacted. So sorry. I was just kinda pissed off, and let's just say it's been a long day ;) Merci beaucoup, that really brought a smile to my face! **

**OnePieceDoesExist: Me too, I listened to lots of sad songs to get into the right mood xD Thank you, that's so kind of you :3 **

**People you really made me soo happy there. I woke up and was excited to see so many left a comment :,) Thank you! Next chapter, the crew will start to notice how strange their 'captain' acts, how will Chakena cover that up? And Luffy will do what...? I got it all planned out hohoho :D **

**~Neko11**


	4. No doubt?

**YXYXYYXYXYX**

**Chapter 4 – No Doubt? **

After what seemed like an eternity, Luffy somehow managed to half jump, half hobble his way back to the town. All the way his legs didn't stop shaking. Blood dripped from his stomach and there were cuts and bruises all over his body. It should hurt, he thought briefly, but all he felt was dim numbness. He was deeply ashamed, but most of all shocked. He was so sure he could bring them back, and now it was all for nothing. There had to be a way to beat Chakena, yet he couldn't think of any.

All Luffy could focus on were his friends and how they still denied him. Luffy was so angry, so unbelievable furious and sad that he just had to get away. As it was, he couldn't beat him. He lost the battle, and now he had to recollect and figure something out... first of all, he needed to remember what he forgot.

And he had to do something against this cold hollowness that spread out inside him like a virus. Because without his nakama, he was nothing. They were the fuel to hope and his strong will.

**YXYXYX**

"He was... weird." Usopp stated, unable to find the right words. The others nodded.

"What exactly did he want, anyway?" Sanji muttered while he took a long drag of his cigarette. He flicked the ash into the sea.

"I hope we got rid of him for once and all. What an annoying guy." Chakena stated, obviously happy he was gone for good. Then he turned to the shipwright.

"Franky, I want you to repair that railing as soon as possible. We don't want any other insects crawling in during the night."

Franky lifted one eyebrow at the choice of words but complied. "Yeah, sure." He wondered about that strange attitude of his captain. When he thought back, wasn't there always a grin upon that guy's face? A silly, stupid grin. Where did that cheerfulness vanish to? Franky shook his head. When he asked Chakena directly, he'd look at him as if he was insane. Was he just confused? Chakena assured him he was still the same, and Franky suddenly felt like he was the one mistaken.

And he felt like there was really more to the boy than they knew. This strawhat guy... it was making him uncomfortable when he was around, and Franky didn't know why. He wasn't troubling them as much as former enemies had, he was just persistent and, well, confused them all to no end. Parts of what he said made sense, but they just couldn't believe him. It seemed unreal that Chakena really wasn't their captain! They would _know_, wouldn't they?

The cyborg went downstairs to get some wood and nails to rebuild the railing. As far as he knew, the others wanted to leave the island this evening so he hurried up with his task. Better leave the thinking for later, now it only kept him from doing his work.

The rest of the crew had assembled in the kitchen safe for Zoro who lifted the anchor, Nami who checked the weather and Usopp who had volunteered to help Franky.

"I guess it's fine to leave now. The air pressure is normal and the wind picking up is just perfect." Nami said more to herself. Then she walked back to the kitchen. "Chakena? I think we can sail off if you want."

Chakena gulped down his tea and replied, "Yeah, sure. You heard it, right? Let's go guys."

"Aye!" The others replied. Sanji and Brook went out to open the sails, and Zoro finished securing the anchor. Franky and Usopp were still repairing the railing, chatting about this and that. Chopper turned into his bigger form and took care of the steering wheel.

"Is it really that wise to leave now, Chakena? It's getting dark soon and we should also restock more supplies." Robin excited the kitchen and stood behind Chakena and Nami who watched the others. Her captain shrugged without turning back.

"I think the darkness is nothing to be bothered by. The supply's fine. And it's a captain's job to decide, not an archaeologist's."

Both Robin and Nami stared at him after that. "How can you talk to Robin like that? You've been acting weird." Nami asked, frowning. Honestly, what was wrong with him?

"Perhaps, the captain is tired?" Robin asked but it sounded rather cold. Chakena shrugged again and Nami's frown deepened.

Robin's eyes narrowed a tad. "Or maybe it has something to do with that boy from before?" She suggested and watched how Chakena's shoulders tensed. Nami obviously noticed it, too, and she seized the chance and asked,

"Who was that guy? You knew him, didn't you?"

Chakena shot around, glaring. "So what if I did?"

"Hey, what's your problem!" Nami hissed. "Just talk to us so that we know what's going on!"

"Last time I checked, I was captain and not the likes of you! So if you'd just kindly shut up and leave me alone?!" Chakena spat and shoved Nami aside.

She yelped and grabbed onto the railing to prevent falling down. She stared at her captain in shock and anger, and Robin wore a similar expression. Sanji, who could hear Nami's voice ten miles against the wind, appeared soon and asked what was wrong.

"None of your business, cook." Chakena grumbled and Sanji blinked.

"Huh? What is the problem?" Sanji asked, thinking he might have misheard. This was an entirely new side of their captain and as the rest of the crew appeared behind Sanji, they all noticed the tensed atmosphere around him.

"What's going on, guys?" Franky wanted to know. "You having a fight?"

Chakena glared at all of them. "No, I'm just surprised this is such an unfaithful crew who doubts their captain!"

"What? We never said that!" Chopper protested. "What happened, anyway?"

"Yeah, what the hell are you talking about?" Zoro asked. Brook noticed how strangely Nami and Robin looked at Chakena and instinctively stepped between them. Chakena pretended not to notice and just continued his grumbling.

Nami was thankful for the skeleton, it was somehow comforting. Still, she took a few steps back, away from her captain. She eyed him warily, not sure what to make of this. Her instincts told her to bring some space between them. He'd been acting weird yesterday as well. And he'd never shove her like this, not her captain! Something must be definitely wrong for him to act so out of character, and Nami slowly began to worry.

"Just tell us what's wrong, maybe we can help. It's about that guy, isn't it? You gave an odd reaction when Robin mentioned him." She tried to say it gently, and Chakena's shoulder's sagged.

"You won't stop me bugging about that strawhat boy, will you?" Chakena whispered in defeat.

"Well, he was strange that's for sure. And we just want to know who he was. We all felt some kind of familiarity about him, you know, there was a certain vibe that none of us can put a finger on." Sanji answered coolly.

"He was different from our other enemies. He obviously had no interest in fighting us and just focused at you. And he was not a bounty hunter. " Zoro stated with arms crossed. He, as well, wanted answers, and he wanted them now. It was like Chakena kept something from them, and he hated it.

"He was really sad and desperate...?" Robin murmured more to herself than the others.

"I could have sworn I knew his smell! My nose was twitching the whole time." Chopper piped up. "And it seemed as if he knew us as well. Did we meet him before?"

"That's true, he talked to us as if we were old friends or something like that... it was creepy! I don't remember him at all!" Brook put in. The whole crew watched Chakena with careful, scrutinizing eyes.

"Is it... is it possible that we lost parts of our memory?" Usopp, who had been silent up until now, wondered aloud. Chakena's eyes widened and even though the sky was darkening, the crew could see how he paled. They were alarmed by his reaction.

"So that's it?!" Franky yelled.

"Eh, no way! Really? Chakena?" Chopper squeaked.

"Is that true? Do we have some kind of amnesia?" Nami pressed, grabbing him at the shoulder. Much to everyone's shock, Chakena slapped Nami across the face and she yelped again, flying against Robin who quickly caught her.

The crew's anger was practically tangible in the air. Zoro's hand shot to his swords a tad faster than Brook's, Usopp grabbed his slingshot, Franky lifted a fist, Chopper turned into a bigger form but Sanji beat them all. He roared and shot forward to kick Chakena hard. The captain hadn't seen that coming and had no time to dodge it. He slammed against the mast and coughed, holding his stomach.

"Damn you..!"

"Who are you?!" Zoro barked, swords pulled out. Now all his instincts were ringing in alarm, telling him to be careful of his so-called captain. "And what is the deal with this strawhat guy?!"

Franky readied his strong right. "What the hell is going on?!"

"You guys really piss me off! You don't go around and question the captain's words! What kind of crappy crew are you?! Just ignore that shitty boy, I'm your captain! Me, and he's just some random asshole! Why can't you leave him alone?! What's so special about him?!" Chakena coughed, glaring hatefully.

The crew glared back, ready to lash out again. Now he was showing them his real face and finally dropped that stupid mask. The uneasiness that had built up the past hours finally proved to be right.

"What's the deal with him, you ask... He's acting like we're important to him." Usopp told him clearly, hatefully, with shaking legs but a strong voice. "I don't believe we'd chose someone like you as our captain, no matter what my memories tell me. It's all blurry anyway and I feel sick when I think about the journey we still have ahead of us if you are really my captain."

"Nicely said, Usopp-bro!" Franky clapped his shoulder.

"Same here. Now it's time for you to give us some answers, otherwise I'll smash that head of yours in. If you really were our captain, you wouldn't hurt Nami!" Sanji shouted, a fire in his eyes. "The captain I remember would always put us first!"

"The captain you remember? Tch, don't make me laugh!" Chakena spat. "I can play this game all day. I won't let you go back to that stupid jerk, throwing me aside like a toy. I have to admit, your bond with him is really strong. I haven't met a crew's like yours before, it was kinda intriguing at first but in the end it's just annoying."

He stood up and raised his arms. Robin hissed and crossed her arms, letting hands sprout on Chakena's limbs to hold him in place. She tried to force his arms back down again but Chakena acted fast.

"Catch him!" Zoro shouted.

As he, Sanji and Franky at him jumped, Chakena yelled it out for everyone to hear, and it was too late for the crew.

"Strawhat crew! Memories of the strawhat boy today and yesterday: Forgotten! Memories of the last ten minutes: Forgotten!"

They gasped, stopping dead in their tracks... and then the crew knew nothing. As they all tried to gather their bearings, rubbing their heads in wonder and looking around, confused, Chakena exhaled deeply. Deleting so many memories in a row was exhausting.

'Too close. They are something else to figure out my abilities. I have to be on watch from now on so that it doesn't escalate like this again. I let the real me shine through too much, ' he thought grimly.

"Wha-what was that?" Nami muttered, still a bit disorientated. "I could have sworn something knocked me down just now."

"Are you hurt, Nami-san?" Sanji asked kindly, beside her in a matter of seconds to help her up.

"No, I think I'm fine. Thanks." She answered, grabbing his offered hand.

Zoro still held his forehead. He knew something important had just happened... but what? There was a blurriness in his head he couldn't get rid off, and a headache was forming.

"We were hit by a gust of wind. Are you all okay?" Chakena asked with fake worry, but no one noticed. They all blinked at him and nodded after a while. The captain grinned inwardly. Once again, he had erased all doubts from their minds.

"Uuah, that was scary." Chopper murmured.

'I should have been able to detect that! How could this happen?' Nami frowned at the sky, still not feeling anything out of place. The weather seemed as fine as minutes before. Well, the New World weather was anything but normal. She shrugged and turned on her heels, making her way back into the warm kitchen.

"I wonder what kind of island we see next?" Chopper said, already excited as he hopped after Brook who laughed. "Exciting indeed!"

Chakena followed the others as they went after Nami but stopped shortly to throw one last glance at the island. He watched as it grew smaller quickly until it had disappeared completely.

Then he smirked. "Farewell, Strawhat."

**YXYXYXYXYXY**

Zoro awoke with a start. His entire body shook. What was that strange dream about? He closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath. As far as he could remember, his dream had been pleasantly... or so he thought. Memories had mixed before his inner eye like a water spilled into a river, and he tried to calm down. His heart was beating madly as he thought about this strange dream.

"_So, your name is Roronoa Zoro?I'm Chakena! Nice to meet ya." _

"_Okay, if you join my crew then I'll get your swords back!" _

"_He overheard the conversation of Morgan's son and got so mad he hit him for you!" _

"_Don't waver... if you waver, then who can we rely on?"_

"_If I can't even protect my captain, then my own ambition is worthless. He is the man who's going to be Pirate King!"_

"_This is where the New World begins! Get a grip!" _

"_Yeah, Sorry!"_

"_Nice, Zoro!" _

"_Aye, captain!" _

Sanji wasn't any better. He turned and tossed in his sleep, muttering nonsense under his breath but didn't wake from his restless sleep.

"_Why would you go that far for your dreams, you morons?! Just give up and live!"_

"_Even if armed with hundreds of weapons, there are times when you can't beat a man who is armored by pure conviction." _

"_If you don't risk your life, you can't create a future." _

"_I might not be that much worth yet, but my head belongs to Black Leg Sanji of the Strawhats, and I'm the one to stir up the most trouble in the future! So take mine instead!"_

"_ZORO, SANJI, USOPP, NAMI! I'm sorry... I'm already dead.__"_

Scenes changed, and Sanji turned around again, frowning. He muttered something under his breath. He didn't hear Usopp's hitched breathes as he made a face in his sleep as well. So many meaningful memories at once, and they all made him uncomfortable.

"_There are times when you have to stand up and fight like a man. It's when someone mocks the dream your friend fights for! I won't let you laugh at him!" _

"_I will leave this crew. And I challenge you to a match!"_

"_Goodbye Usopp... it's been fun."_

"_Even if the sky is full of clouds and we can't see the sun, there is still hope! This isn't hell! So stop looking dead! STOP MAKING US WORRY, DAMMIT!"_

"_Got it. This isn't hell or anything." _

"_Ch-Chakena... beat him so that we can go home together!" _

"_OF COURSE!" _

"_They... are leaving without me...?"_

"_I'M SORRY!"_

A tear escaped his eye and Usopp blinked as he woke, rubbing at them in wonder. He was crying..? Usopp wiped his nose and turned to look at his friends. None of them seemed to have a pleasant night. He watched as Franky flinched a bit and then laid completely still safe for the rise of his chest.

"_I don't care about the money. I won't stop until I send you flying!"_

"_Heeey, we're here, Franky! Give us the ship!"_

"_If you want your pants back, then become our nakama!"_

"_Uwaah.. I love you guys!"_

"_You are right... how could I forget a man's romance?! Let me sing a song about that..." _

"_Shishishi, I like the way you handle things, Franky!"_

"_Uoooh, you look amazing!" _

Chopperfrowned heavily, head turning and tossing. Even though he was sweating badly, his little body trembled in his sleep as ghosts of the pasts came to find him.

"_Is he a monster?!" _

"_I don't have any nakama!"_

"_I'M YOUR NAKAMA!"_

"_This isn't a flag you can break down and laugh at!"_

"_We have a doctor, doctor!" _

"_Oouh, you are amazing, Chopper!"_

"_P-please s-save th-them... they are m-my friends!"_

"_If they want to save the kids, then we're not leaving."_

Brook lay as still as a stone, not moving a single bone. In his mind, he was running away from all those memories that seemed to follow him, laughing at him. He was scared.

"_Hiya! Do you poop? But more importantly, do you wanna join my crew?"_

"_Don't worry, Brook. I'll go and kick that guy's ass to the moon and save your shadow!"_

"_Hahaha! Skull jooooke! You are so funny!"_

"_Sing a song! Song, song, song!"_

"_Finally we got our musician!"_

"_Stop right there, guys. Think about how Chakena would feel if he knew one of his friends had to suffer for him."_

Meanwhile, the girls had similar sleeping troubles. Robin awoke with a start, eyes wide and staring up at the ceiling in confusion and a little fear. What was this gut-clenching feeling? Voices from her dream returned and seemed to haunt her. Her eyes squeezed shut, trying to ignore them.

"_Are you crazy?! Don't think you can survive by having the whole world as your enemy!" _

"_YOU WANNA BET?!" _

"_I haven't heard it from you! __Say that you wanna live, Robiiiin!"_

"_I don't care about that. We just came to save our friend." _

"_I won't let you harm my friends... or the east blue!"_

"_Eh? What are you reading?"_

"_Nico Robin...if this is your answer, then it's fine. You found your place."_

"_PLEASE STOP THIS!" _

Nami mumbled in her sleep, her fists tightened and she pulled a grimace. Words echoed in her head like a ghost. __

_"They are your comrades! How can you kill them off?!" _

"_Please help me...," _

"_Of course I'll help you!" _

"_He made my navigator cry!" _

"_You are my nakama!"_

"_... so with that said... please come and save me from Shiki."_

"_Don't worry, Nami. I'll get you and Sanji to a doctor now!"_

"_RUN, GUYS! RUN AWAY! Meet up in three days!"_

Nami awoke, blinking into the darkness. The last piece of dream had creeped her out. She didn't want to think back to that day they all separated... Rubbing her arms as if feeling cold, she pulled the blanked up to her chin, shivering. She closed her eyes after a while, hoping she could find some rest now. They all felt sort of miserable that night.

Something was missing, something important, but what was it? Everyone was here, everyone was healthy – what was this weird feeling? They had experienced happy times, and now they felt really odd to have dreamt about important occasions of their pasts. Why would it make them feel so uncomfortable?

To say this was a disturbing night was an understatement. During breakfast they all looked worn out with bangs under their eyes. All expect Chakena who was full of energy.

The day rolled by with everyone busy doing their own stuff. There weren't many words exchanged as no one was in the mood to talk really. Chakena didn't seem the least bothered by it, and he smiled as he sat down in the sun to study a list of names.

He didn't notice Usopp and Chopper running around in a game of tag until the sniper bumped into him accidentally.

With a gasp, Chakena fell down and released his grip on the list. He looked up quickly, only to see the piece of paper fly off by a sudden gust of wind.

"Ops, sorry! I didn't see you sitting there." Usopp apologized, dusting himself off. He didn't notice Chakena's distress until the captain shot up and dashed to the railing, staring upwards.

"No! Damn! Turn the ship!" He shouted frantically, but it was too late. The list was gone. He growled and turned to the confused sniper.

"What have you done, you clumsy idiot?!" Chakena exploded suddenly, grabbing Usopp by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "It's gone!"

"I-I'm sorry! Was it that important?" Usopp answered, his smile long gone.

"It was an accident!" Chopper tried, pulling at Chakena's sleeve to release Usopp. Chakena's fists tightened, and for a moment a crazy, mad expression appeared on his face that sent shivers down Usopp's and Chopper's spine. Then, as fast as it had appeared, it vanished and Chakena's fists loosened.

He smiled, and it was awfully fake, but his voice sounded strong and kind. "It's okay. You wouldn't know how important it is. Nevermind."

With that said, he turned around and disappeared under deck, leaving two confused crew members behind to blink in wonder.

'I don't need the names as long as I got the ones from this crew.' He thought, trying to calm himself as he lay down in his bunk. 'Everything is going well.'

**XYXYXYXYXYXY**

**So, that's it for this chapter. Thanks for your reviews :) **

**nani-onigiri: Aah ja ich erinnere mich an dich :D Danke schön! *gg* Sorry for the late update, but I hope it was worth the wait. 'Course, he's Luffy after all :) Danke =3 ich freue mich immer über deine Kommentare! **

**Flight Wulf: *tears up* Your review is so awesome.. you are so awesome to review like that, it makes me so happy! Really, thank you sooo much! :,D And my apologies for the late update!**

**Son of Whitebeard: Hey there again :) Thank you for your reviews! I'm so glad you still read my stories. Huh, that would be interesting! I guess Bartolomeo would win if he used his barrier from the beginning so that Chakena doesn't get the chance to touch him. **

**Please keep on reviewing~**

**~Neko11**


	5. The right to call yourself friend

**Wohoo, chapter five already! This is moving fast and I'm having so much fun writing it thanks to all of your great support :)**

**(Has anyone read the latest manga chapter? Holy heck! I wish Oda would give us two chapters a week lol the suspense is killing me)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece!**

**YXYXYXYXYXY**

**Chapter 5 – The right to call yourself friend**

-Y-X-Y-X-Y-

Somewhere far off, a man stumbled and fell down, head bowed. He gasped for breath as if he'd run a marathon and grabbed his head, jerkily, clumsily. Suddenly, it all had come back to him, it was catapulted at him like a cannonball causing a huge explosion and ripping apart the fog in his mind. The haze cleared and he stuttered, trembling.

"Wha-what happened? I.. I remember?!"

He turned his head as another man approached him slowly on shaking legs. "Do you... I mean, do you know?" He asked in a whisper.

A sob was heard. "How could we forget him? How could we let someone take over our minds like that? Oh God, Len, we-"

"I know. I-I know..."

"Where are the others? We have to find them."

-Y-X-Y-X-Y-

Billy was walking through the city. It was a peaceful day and he remembered he had to buy some bread. Since that freaky eating monster had entered his house he had barely anything edible left. Scratch that, there was _nothing_ left.

Speaking of which, Billy mused, what was the guy doing? He hoped he was okay, he hadn't seen Chakena in a while now so maybe the guy had settled down finally? Well, hopefully... Billy shrugged as he paid for the bread and some apples. The Strawhats had probably left already.

When he went back, he passed a few elder women who stood in a half circle, discussing the past days' newest events. He shook his head at their gossiping but his ears perked up when a boy with a strawhat was mentioned.

He halted abruptly. "Strawhat?"

One of the women looked up, regarding him with a disgusted look. "What, are you eavesdropping?"

"What happened to him?" Billy pressed, ignoring the woman.

"Well, we took him to the doctor. Apparently he is gone already. End of story." Another replied, shrugging. She turned back to the others. "But did you see his big, round eyes? He looked like a kid! I wonder if his parents abused him or something?"

A few giggled at that. "What are you talking about, Rosie? Don't be stupid, that guy was the famous pirate with the strawhat. I saw his wanted poster. He's worth a lot! Why did we let him escape?"

"Eeh, no way! A pirate? And we helped him! I hope the doctor is alright... what if he murdered him? I haven't seen him in a long time now!"

Billy gritted his teeth. Sheesh, women! "He was hurt? What happened?" He tried to ask as politely as possible, and the women turned back to him in annoyance.

"We told you to get lost, eavesdropping on our conversation is rude! And we don't know!" one screeched.

"Yeah, you better go home already!"

"Okay, I got it!" He muttered, lifting his hands in defense and backing away. "I'm leaving. Old hags."

He didn't hear the screams of protests behind him as he walked away, deep in thoughts. "That kid was hurt..." he talked to himself, rubbing his chin. Well, why should he be concerned- ah fuck this. Billy stomped back to his house angrily. If Luffy was still there, he would go and see the kid. Somehow, he was a nice boy, wasn't he? And maybe he was just too soft. Whatever. Who was he trying to fool? He was a bit concerned and checking up on him wouldn't hurt. Billy wanted to bring his groceries home first and was planning to head over to the town's doctor.

What he didn't expect though was that he'd find Luffy sooner.

The kid was lying in front of his door, looking beaten. Dried blood was everywhere on his skin and he seemed to be asleep. Billy stared for a bit before he finally came back to life.

"Oh damn! Kiddo, you okay? Hey wake up!" Luffy didn't really respond and Billy decided to drag him inside first. He washed him up and bandaged his wounds, and when he began to cook, Luffy arouse as if he had never been knocked out.

Billy didn't want to press him, but after they finished the meal he asked him what the heck happened. Luffy swallowed and looked at him with an expression that made Billy regret he even asked.

Luffy looked so pale and tired... and there was this look in his eyes that reminded Billy of himself after he lost his own crew.

"What did he do?" He asked gently, and watched how Luffy clenched his fists. All happiness over a meal was long forgotten, and a quiet, depressed Luffy appeared.

"It's just as you said... he is dangerous, that guy. He took all of their memories and even some of mine. He has total control of the situation... what can I do? I can't leave them with him but I cannot beat him...", Luffy stuttered. For the first time after those two years, the conviction he worked so hard for disappeared. He felt weak and helpless, like after the war, and it was destroying him.

He'd trained with Rayleigh to prevent something like this from happening again, hadn't he? So was it all for naught? Was he really no good after all? He only managed to drag his friends into another huge mess; he couldn't protect them when it really mattered. It was like an impact dial had exploded its power right into his face. Luffy felt pathetic.

Billy knocked him over the head. "Kid, don't let this rule you."

"Ow!" Luffy rubbed his abused head and glared up at Billy.

"You have to get them back. What the hell are you moping around for? You want to save them, don't you?" Billy said, unfazed by the glare.

Luffy crossed his arms and frowned heavily. "I know that even without you telling me! And of course I want to save them, this stupid asshole could never be the captain! But how can I beat him?! He just keeps on making me forget everything and I can't prevent that from happening unless I hurt myself. If he wants, he can tell the others to fight and _I won't fight my nakama_!" He spat out the last part venomously and strongly.

Billy listened intently, and when the other had finished he shook his head. "Luffy, trust me I know how you feel, and it totally sucks. But you have to figure out how to beat him. You know, your crew would be disappointed in you if you left them now."

Luffy's breath stopped at that. The words seeped into his mind like poison, but Billy wasn't aware of that. The man's eyes were hard and he clenched his fists, sorrow from days long ago welling up as he thought back.

"I've been through that, too... If you give up now, you'll betray them, not the other way around. You just ditch them and drown in your own misery here, won't you? That's pitiful! Don't- don't become like me!" Billy inhaled deeply, trying to suppress the tears that gathered in his eyes. "Let me tell you one thing, pal: You'll regret it forever if you let them go now! How the hell can you become Pirate King?!"

My crew... disappointed... regret... _Ace_...

"_We'll live without regrets!"_

"_If it's you, you'll definitely become the next Pirate King. You're my little brother after all."_

Luffy stared at Billy as pictures filled his mind. Pictures full of colors, pink, blue, orange, black, green, yellow, violet, red, everything. There were images filled to the brink with nothing but laughter, smiles everywhere and life; so much warmth. There was also unimaginable pain and sorrow and lots of tears, but those times were precious too, because it was when they found each other and learned how to live with their pain.

It was overwhelming Luffy with so many emotions. It was a tidal wave of memories, pushing him back and sending him down through a journey of the past.

"_Are you the son of the devil? Alright, I'm gonna join your crew!"_

"_I have 8,000 men following me! I'm CAPTAIN USOPP!" _

"_Luffy... help me...!" _

"_Luffy, don't jump around like that! And stop stretching, it'll upset the wounds!"_

"_Luffy-san! I've pledged my life to you, yohoho!"_

"_Robin! Let's go home together!"_

"_SUPER, Luffy-bro!"_

"_This isn't a children's game we're playing! If you let him join again without his sincere apology, then I'll be the next one to leave!"_

"_Luffy, stop__! That's exactly what they want! Let's just get out of here!" _

"_EEEH, you mean it was a lie? No way!"_

"_Brace yourself, Shiki... we are the main force!"_

"_Shouldn't I be the one pissed off, bro? Heh, you're a funny guy."_

"_We know him... that whale..!"_

"_Wait Luffy, let me cook him first!"_

"_You gave them the treasure?! Those were a huge amount of money, how could you!"_

"_Can I see your panties?"_

"_Luffy! Let's go fishing!"_

"_It's time to find out if that woman is our enemy or our friend."_

"_Alright, I'm gonna be your shipwright!"_

"_He stole my shadow..."_

"_Robin chose to sacrifice herself for us!"_

"_I don't need to cut off my legs, because now there's someone else fighting for us."_

"_Luffy, let's go to Elbaf one day!"_

"_Jimbei! That guy took my friends. I'm going! If you want to stop me, go ahead and try!"_

"_You becoming the Pirate King and me finding the All Blue... that's both crazy dreams. You'll need a cook for such a journey. Can I.. come with you?"_

"_I.. I'm so happy! Yes, I will join! Uwaah, I'm so glad to be alive!"_

"_Luuuffy... did you just eat one of my tangerines?"_

"_I WANNA LIVE! TAKE ME TO THE SEA WITH YOU!"_

"_Can you hear me, Luffy? I'm sorry for making you worry... if I failed to become the best swordsman, you'd be in a dilemma, right? So... I swear I'm never gonna lose again! GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT, PIRATE KING?!"_

"_Courage is worthless if you don't have the strength to back it up."_

"_What the hell is wrong with me?! I couldn't even save one friend!"_

"_Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook! I still got my nakama! I wanna see them now! I MISS THEM!"_

Luffy felt slightly torn up. All those moments were precious and he knew them as if it happened yesterday. Their journey through the world, all their adventures... storming through the Grand Line like a hurricane, meeting people and new friends; it was all so important. They've been together for so long now and they learned to take care of each other and it felt like a family. Luffy bit his lip.

He could remember everything even though they all forgot. They sailed off, they were gone, but-

-He was still there, and he could still remember. As long as he had those memories, he could save them. They needed him now, and maybe he needed them even more. He wanted them back; he wanted his friends. No one would take them from him. This was enough to help him back onto his feet and he cursed himself for giving up too soon.

"Billy." Determined eyes met confused ones. "You're right. There is a way to beat him, I'm sure."

"What?"

Luffy leaned back, and something in the air around him seemed to change. "Tell me everything you know about Chakena. "

Billy looked stunned for a second before he grinned. That kid had some courage and it was nice to see the fire in his eyes again. "Alright."

Luffy listened intently, and for once didn't interrupt. Inwardly, Billy couldn't believe how different the boy was suddenly. He went from happy-go-lucky to depressed to dead set on saving his friends. Such a change in a really short time... Billy smiled. He may didn't look like a threatening figure, or that strong, but at that moment Luffy was really inspiring. If only he could have acted that way, too, back then... if only Billy had believed in his crew a little more, and in himself.

But what's gone couldn't be returned, and he should have come to terms with that a long time ago. So instead of letting the tears fall again, Billy sucked it up and focused on supporting Luffy instead. That's the least he could do after failing his own crew.

"I've been doing some research the first two years." Billy said, "I was still hoping to be able to return to my crew then."

Luffy said nothing.

"Anyways," Billy said quickly, "I found out Chakena's power is limited. Or rather, there is a drawback. I don't know if it is useful, though. He has to remember all the names of the persons he manipulated. If he forgets a name, the person will automatically be free of their 'connection' and remember everything."

Luffy cocked his head to the side. "That sounds annoying for him. Does he have to learn the names each day?"

Billy nodded. "It sounds ridiculous, but he recites them every night. I don't know how many there are, but I guess it's a lot so he wrote it down. From what I managed to find out, he has some sort of list with names."

"He does? So my crew's names are on it as well now?"

"Probably, though he would still remember them after the list's destroyed since your names are really famous. In short, if you manage to destroy that list, everyone who has been unlucky enough to encounter Chakena and his power will remember what they were forced to forget. That is, unless he still manages to remember the name."

Luffy didn't look too happy about that. There was something in his eyes that made Billy shudder. "I don't care. I only want my crew back."

Billy hadn't expected such harsh words from the boy and found himself unable to reply for a moment. Not that he couldn't understand it, but he had hoped for something else there, a different answer and not such coldness coming from the boy. Billy scratched his head. Well, he did have a really tough day, or rather the past two days must have sucked for him. Still, if Luffy could destroy it, then maybe his old crew would remember finally.. if they were still alive.

"Ossan, listen. I'm not gonna do what you weren't able to do. My fight is my own, and your fight is yours. If you want your crew back, then get up and fight. You told me not to lose faith in myself and how disappointed my friends would be, but what about you? I bet your crew is really suffering, even more than you." Luffy said with arms crossed. "I'm gonna save my friends, and if you want to do the same, then go find that stupid list yourself!"

Billy felt like someone knocked him in the stomach. He gasped like a fish out of water before his tongue finally worked again. That kid had just turned around the whole situation and threw it at him. "You.. I can't! He'll kill me! It's easy for you to say, but I am old and weak! I haven't fought in years and I have failed to beat him so many times! What's the difference now?!"

Luffy smiled determinedly. "I'm with you, and I will kick his ass! If you get the list, then you can destroy it. Only if you sail out and search for your crew, you have the right to call yourself their friend!"

Billy turned away, hands shaking. That guy was right. He had lost the right to be their friend a long time ago. It wasn't them who pushed him away, but him who didn't get up and follow. He did exactly what he told Luffy not to do, because it sucked to fail your family. How dare he hide away and rot in shame, not doing anything to return to their side? Maybe this one was his one and only chance to do the right thing and correct his mistake.

"... okay."

Luffy nodded, satisfied. "Yosh. Then it's decided. This time, we won't lose."

Billy grinned wearily but the boy's conviction was infectious. "No, we won't." How did he do it? How did he put so much willpower into his words and actions after such a defeat? He came back crawling a few hours before and now look at him, all fired up again. Billy could only be amazed by this attitude.

"What about blocking your ears?" Luffy suddenly threw in, looking at Billy curiously. "If I don't hear him, I won't forget, right?"

Billy shook his head sadly. "God knows how many times I've tried that. It doesn't work. I put earplugs in and was really deaf to the world once, but somehow his power got to me."

"Shit. That guy's got a really annoying power."

"He is easily underestimated, and maybe that's his biggest advantage."

They sat in silence for a bit, until Billy began speaking again. He told Luffy of that dreadful night, when Chakena just appeared seemingly out of nowhere but just as bold and arrogant as these days. He took the memories of each of his crew members and turned them against him in an instant. Talking about it hurt but Billy kept on speaking. This was important, and if he oversaw something, Luffy may find it now.

"The last one was my closest friend." Billy said and it was barely above a whisper. "Tobi appeared after Len attacked me and defended me against Chakena. That guy obviously hadn't thought there was another one he'd overseen, but he wasted no time. I don't know, it all happened so fast!"

Billy paused shortly, and inhaled to continue. "I was so happy I had some backup and that there was still someone who could remember me, and Chakena was so surprised.. I thought we could turn the tables. But Chakena is clever, he avoided our attacks and slammed his hand into Tobi's face. And then he spoke those words.. 'Tobi, memories of your captain Billy: Forgotten!' And the next thing I knew was how Tobi began to fight me instead. That's when I knew I lost."

Luffy listened intently, carefully, a serious expression on his face. Billy decided briefly that it didn't suit him at all.

"It was really horrible."

Luffy stared at his hat on the table, an unreadable expression upon his face. "I know. He did the same to us. He randomly appeared out of nowhere and just touched us, it was weird."

"So, he touched everyone of you as well?" Billy muttered, frowning. Luffy shot up from his seat as it dawned upon him.

"That's right! He has to touch before he can make the memories disappear, doesn't he?" Luffy declared triumphantly.

Billy's eyes flickered to him briefly and he shrugged. "Well, it seems so." It wasn't too surprising. "But knowing that before hand would have helped more. Now it's too late, he already got his spell on you."

Luffy's shoulders slumped slightly and he fell back into his chair. "I guess.." He drew circles on the table, seemingly bored and unhappy. Sheesh, he hated thinking and planning! That wasn't his style at all, he was more for just barging in and fight, but that tactic had failed two times. Robin would be a great help now... damn. If only he could fight him head on without his stupid powers that got in the way! If only he hadn't let Chakena touch him-

Luffy stopped, looking up with big eyes. What if...? He looked at his hand as if seeing it for the first time and gasped loudly. Then he suddenly slammed it down on the table, effectively startling Billy.

"I know it!" Luffy yelled.

"Huh? What?" the other man hadn't caught up.

Luffy grabbed Billy's shoulders, expression lighting up. "I got an idea! I know how to beat him!"

"What?! You do?! That's impossible! I've spent five years trying to figure out how!"

Luffy half-smiled, stepping back. "I'm not sure if it workds. If I tell you, you'd probably try to stop me. So I'll just tell you afterwards!"

"Luffy! You don't plan on going back _now_? You're all hurt! He'll smash you! Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean for you to barge in like last time! Wait until those wounds are healed!" Billy tried to reason. "At least tell me what you're planning! If it doesn't work you'll die!"

Luffy had enough of that babbling. "I won't let that happen! You don't give up so easily if you really treasure your friends!" he declared loudly and turned on his heels, hand on his hat. He stared ahead determinedly, something dangerous flaring up in his eyes.

"I'm gonna save them, just watch!"

Billy only stared after him, frozen and left behind. He couldn't shake the feeling of dread rising inside him.

"Luffy!" But the captain didn't listen. He growled dangerously before taking off. It looked ridiculous how the young man moved forwards by jumping but the other didn't feel like laughing. Billy dashed to the door and halted. Luffy was hopping with incredible speed, and it really looked like the kid knew what he was doing. Billy tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Maybe he should really just trust him. Luffy was the only one who could help them.

Billy gripped the door frame with shaking hands. "I'm gonna put this all in your hands. Just make sure to kick this guy's butt for good... and come back save."

_I'm praying this nightmare will end_.

"Oooi! Ossan! What are you doing? Hurry up, we gotta leave!" Luffy stopped and called out to him. Billy blinked, ripped out of his thoughts.

"What are you talking about?"

"You wanna see your friends again, don't you? Then come with me and help! I can't navigate!" Luffy replied as if he was proud of it.

Billy's eyes widened. "Wha- but- I-",

"Ossan, it's now or never. Don't fail them again." Luffy's cheery edge vanished and he glared up, freezing Billy to his spot. The older man's breath stopped before he frowned heavily, glaring back.

"You cheeky brat! You don't even have a boat!" Billy roared. "I guess it can't be helped, we have to take my old fishing boat then. Geez, a pirate who can't navigate..."

Luffy threw his head back and laughed heartily. "One more reason to get back to my friends!"

With that said, a sort of alliance between them was formed. An alliance to bring down Chakena.

"By the way, did you, by any chance, forget how to walk?"

Luffy blinked at him, oblivious to his funny moving style. "Forget how to _what_?"

Billy sighed. "Ah, forget it." '_That was a cheap one, Chakena you bastard.'_

**YXYXYXYXYXYX**

The Sunny was already far off, somewhere in the middle of the ocean. It was a calm evening.

Chakena chuckled. He was on watch that night, and it proved to be really useful that everyone else was deeply asleep. He pulled out Sanji's lighter he had snatched earlier and lit it. Then, with a grin, he set fire to Nami's logbook. Chakena watched it burn until nothing was left of it save for ash.

His plan was moving forwards, forming a shape. He was on the road to success and who could stop him now? If some of them would remember, he would just make them forget. And if he thought they were annoying or exhausting, he could always ditch them and disappear. For now, though, he should be save. He hadn't been studying the newspaper and following their actions for nothing those past months. He had prepared well for this and it paid off. He was the captain of the Strawhat crew. With their backup, he could sail on as a real pirate and become famous in no time.

Chakena took the ash into his hands carefully and opened the window of the crow's nest. With sick satisfaction he watched as the wind blew it away into the night.

**YXYXYXYXYXY**

**So the 'lists' mystery is solved lol. Next chapter, shit's about to go down I can promise that xD **

**You guys are so amazing... *cries* It's like an early Christmas present :D **

**Son of Whitebeard: Hey there :) Lol he's a creepy man xD**

**SilenceOfRain7: That's great to hear :D Thanks, that means a lot to me if you tell me that! I always try to write them in character but sometimes it's really difficult. So, thanks a lot :) I know, right? He sucks lol. I hope you liked this chapter as well, and thank you =)**

**Valeria Aurelia: Thanks so much for reviewing twice =3 Th-thanks, I'm so glad then :,D Let me throw that compliment right back at you, your comment made me so happy I could cry lol. No worries, his willpower surged up again! Thank you for these awesome reviews, you made me really happy :,) It's comments like those that really motivate me so much!**

**FlightWulf: Answer is on the way, as usual :) Thank you~ :,) **

**nani-onigiri: Aach dankeschöön :DD Jep er is ein riesen A(zensiert). Yay Strawhats fighting power! Haha me too, it's kinda sad to write.. but the tables will turn. Danke! :)**

**Kouru-Kage: It is! It would be cool if there was some devil fruit like this in the OP universe. Nicely said :) Hmm that's true, I admit I forgot about her (shame on me!) Maybe I'll put it in if you don't mind me stealing your idea :) **

**Ashlielle: I thought about that, too, but I guess breathing counts to the bodies' natural reflexes. Even a baby knows how to breathe by instinct, you don't need to learn it first :) Scary indeed, but also kinda interesting ^_^ Who knows what Oda will throw at us in the future...Wohoo, donut! Thanks a lot, and also thanks for the great comment! =D **

**lilly2011: I'm glad you are excited. Lol no way, stalker! :D I hope you didn't have to wait too long ;) Now I feel like crying in happiness, thank you! That was such a kind review T^T **

**~ until next time!**

**~Neko11**


	6. You have a good sword, Zoro

**Yeeesh, I have vacation now so here's finally the update! Sorry for it being late!**

**Okay guys, prepare mentally. I'm not lying when I say this is gonna be intense xD **

**Thanks a lot for FlightWulf for bringing up the log book (which I had Chakena burned last chapter). If Nami discovered Luffy's name in it instead of Chakena's, she'd have started to wonder. I didn't think of it, so thanks! Also thanks to Kouru-Kage! He/She reminded me of one more special nakama :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

**YXYXYXYXYXYX**

**Chapter 6 – You have a good sword, Zoro**

"You're still not gonna tell me?" Billy asked for what seemed the hundredth time. Luffy munched on a fish happily and just shook his head, a smile never leaving his face.

"Damn, you're really stubborn, aren't you? Don't you think it would be useful for me to know of your plan?" Billy half-laughed, half-grumbled. He didn't know whether to be irritated or amused.

"Nope! I will kick his butt and leave the rest to you and my friends. Ah, that was yummy. Not as good as Sanji's breakfast, though...", Luffy complained while rubbing his belly. "Ossan, how long is it gonna take til we get there?"

This time it was Billy's turn to shrug. "I'm not sure. They must be far ahead already. We still are half a day behind."

"Whaaat, this long? Damn... I want my food now...", Luffy whined pitifully.

"What, you wanna save your friends because you miss the good food?"

Luffy just ignored him. "Food...",

"Hey, not talking to me now? Sheesh..", Billy pouted, rolling his eyes. "I don't know why I came along in the first place."

Luffy's head hung over the edge so that his hair barely touched the water and his vision was upside down. He sighed deeply, but suddenly spotted something in the distance. He shot up so quickly his head was spinning and Billy nearly fell overboard by the sudden movement.

"What the- could you not do that?!" Billy gripped on to the railing for dear life. "For christ's sake, you nearly gave me a heart-attack!"

"We did it!" Luffy exclaimed.

"What?"

"It's Sunny!"

"Do you have a sunstrok-" Billy wanted to ask but the rest of the sentence died in his throat as he saw the ship as well. "Hold on...", Billy didn't believe his eyes. "How is that possible?"

Luffy stood up and cracked his knuckles, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Time to get serious."

_-Meanwhile-_

"Eeh, what is this?!" Franky growled. "I don't understand why she's not moving!" It was pretty early in the morning, but the crew was already up since their cyborg was making a huge fuss. Thousand Sunny wasn't moving an inch, hadn't been since last evening and nothing had changed over night. Their shipwright was at a complete loss, much to their surprise. Could a ship really be this stubborn? Perhaps it was just one of the New World's mysteries, but Franky would have none of it.

Nami sighed while looking at the sky. "Well, there's not much wind, so it's not that surprising... though I still wonder what's wrong. Sunny should be moving at least a little since there's a current around here."

"Oi, Franky! You still don't know what's wrong?" Sanji asked from the kitchen.

The cyborg shook his head and replied into the pipe, "No idea! It's a complete mystery to me! She just stopped moving, but everything's fine. There's nothing blocked, and the rest of the mechanism is okay, too."

"Weird," Sanji muttered.

"Tell me about it. It's as if Sunny doesn't _want_ to continue." Franky murmured, clearly annoyed.

Chakena wasn't too happy about it, either. He stormed around the deck like a lion in a cage, moving back in forth nervously. The rest of the crew watched in wonder but no one wanted to make a comment when the captain was obviously so tense. It was odd to say the least, and it made them all incredibly uncomfortable. What could trigger such a strong reaction from him? Where they being followed? If that was the case, then who on earth was it who managed to drive Chakena up a wall like that..? Normally, he'd rather half-kill himself than run away from a fight.

"Honestly, Chakena, what's wrong?" Zoro finally talked up, hating the insecurity from his captain.

Chakena stopped pacing and looked up. The whole crew was staring at him, waiting for his answer and he quickly grew irritated from their glances. "I-,"

"Chakena!" A familiar voice roared suddenly, making them all flinch. "Get your butt ready to be kicked!"

"Seriously, Luffy? Is that your badass-entry-call?" Billy muttered.

"What's wrong with it?" Luffy asked back, confused.

Chakena's eyes widened. "No fucking way!" He dashed to the railing, the crew following closely. "It's him?!"

"Eeh, who's that?!" Chopper squeaked. Zoro narrowed his eye, gazing down at the tiny rowboat. Somehow, seeing this man again didn't surprise him as much as it should. He didn't know him, but somehow, that face, voice... it rang a bell.

"What a funny guy." Robin said, staring at Luffy in interest. It felt odd, the flutter in her chest... as if she was happy to see him. The others had similar reactions, Nami, Usopp, Franky and Sanji even smiled slightly before realizing what they were doing.

Nami touched her mouth in confusion. 'I'm happy...?' She didn't understand it. This whole situation was bizarre. Did they know him?

Sanji only shook his head, pushing his thoughts aside for now. "Are you kidding me? How could they sneak onto us like that?"

Luffy seized the chance of the others' bafflement. He wasted no time and took one of the rows to catapult himself onto Sunny's deck. The others took a step back, surprised by his agility. He seemed so light on his feet.

"Wah, bounty hunter?! Who are you and what do you want?!" Usopp demanded hotly, pulling out his slingshot.

"I'm getting you back." Luffy grinned at them with his sunshine smile, and while Brook and Nami broke down in suppressed laughter about the weird way he hopped forward, Usopp only blinked at him.

"You what?" Usopp sputtered back. That guy was not making any sense. "And where are you from that you have this kind of walking style?"

"T-told you it looked weird." Billy's voice sounded from down below. Luffy looked down on himself, a huge questionmark forming over his head.

"It does? How am I supposed to move, then? It looks tricky the way you do it."

Nami finally calmed down. "Really, who is that guy?"

Usopp leaned over to her and whispered, "I think he's making fun of us."

Finally, Billy managed to climb after Luffy more or less clumsy. His breathing was irregular and he was sweating slightly, but he finally pulled himself over the railing. "Shit, it's been too long since I've done stuff like that." He murmured and wiped his forehead.

"Another guy?" Chopper asked.

"Robin, why didn't you stop him?!" Nami whispered to the other woman, albeit she was glad Robin hadn't done anything actually. Robin only shrugged. She wasn't even sure, and when she glanced at her friends she realized none of them had acted at all. They had just let two strangers enter the ship. They didn't seem too threatening but still, this was odd. Everyone just had let it happen while watching in anticipation.

"Saa, we're here!" Luffy said happily but there was a certain edge in his voice that suggested you better be careful of him. His cheery expression vanished suddenly, and his voice grew darker. "Chakena, this time you won't get away."

Chakena stared a little longer before his lips tugged upwards and he burst out laughing. "Are you for real?! You followed us in this tiny nutshell? You really wanna bring me down that badly, don't cha? You and what army – that old pitiful guy?"

"Hey, you remember me, right? I'm with Luffy to avenge my crew!" Billy growled.

"You do? Ha, nice joke." Chakena wiped his eyes. "Yeah, I do know you, and I know how I broke you. It was fun."

"You know them?" Franky wanted to know. "Old friends of yours?"

Chakena still grinned. "You could say that."

Billy boiled with anger. Luffy, too, had a hard time controlling himself there. His fists shook. "Enough of that useless talk. Let's get down to business. You won't win a third time!"

"We'll see about that, dork. Guys, you better be careful. The guy with the strawhat is no joke even though he looks like one."

The crew tensed immediately, shaken from their stupor. Chakena glanced at them quickly and narrowed his eyes. They still seemed really attracted by their old captain if he could baffle them this much with his appearance alone. He didn't like it, but he would make sure this was the last time they saw him. What could he do, really?

"Throw them off the ship. They have no right to be here!" Chakena yelled, and Sanji, Brook, Franky and Zoro charged forward. The fight began, though it wasn't that much of a battle but rather a dodging. It only served to make the Strawhat crew even more desperate to land a hit, even though they didn't know their enemy.

Luffy swore to himself he wouldn't lay a finger on them, so he didn't fight back. He had his hands full of ducking and jumping away, and barely avoided the crew's attacks. Luffy did flick-flacks and jumps and all sorts of weird dances not to get hit, and even without his powers he was really fast. He only had to wait for the right moment to set his plan in motion. At the same time, Billy was nearing a panic. He hadn't thought they would attack with such vigor!

He dived behind a barrel for cover, shaking from exhaustion. "I'm definitely not suited for this anymore!" How he wished he could be at home in his small, stupid house. He clenched his fists. No, that wasn't right. This was his only chance to take revenge for his crew. The man who did this was right here! Billy peered at Chakena from behind his hideout. His hands trembled, he ached for a hit right into that stupid, smug face of that devil.

That's when he saw Sanji kicking Luffy hard into the gut. Sanji had actually used haki so the attack had hurt him a lot. He skidded to the ground and climbed back to his feet, but Franky was already beside him.

Billy gasped, dashing forward. "Luffy, look out!"

"Strong Right!" Franky yelled; simultaneously his right fist shot out with great force. Luffy's eyes widened; Franky aimed at his head and it was too late to dodge!

Billy gritted his teeth. "What the heck are you doing?!" _Save your nakama!_

Before the fist could make contact with a startled Luffy, Billy jumped in between. He was hit squarely against the jaw and crashed into the mast painfully. He slumped to the deck without another noise. He'd lost consciousness for good.

"OSSAN!"

Luffy watched the whole scene in horror. "You shouldn't have done that...! Hey, Billy-ossan!"

Nami, who had watched intently, swallowed hard. "He protected him..".

Everyone stared at the older man in shock as he didn't move a muscle. Chakena whistled, highly amused. Luffy shot around, growling at Franky.

"What, you wanna go next?" Franky asked, grabbing his fist. He couldn't stop himself from glancing at the limp form of Billy. He hadn't expected that. 'That guy's got some courage.'

"Crap!" Luffy closed his eyes quickly, trying to suppress his anger. Franky wasn't the one at fault here, he had to remind himself. Luffy glanced at Billy worriedly, but chose to put him to the back of his mind for the moment. Chopper would take care of him later. Now he had to beat Chakena, for himself and for Billy.

Uttering an animistic growl, Luffy readied his fist and leaped forward. He didn't come far since he had to dodge Nami's clima tact and another quick kick from Sanji. Luffy landed safely and rolled away from the danger, panting. His glare never left Chakena.

"Jeez, you are stubborn. Twice you got kicked away, and yet you always come back. What is WRONG with you!" Chakena rubbed his temples, beginning to lose interest. At first, it was pretty funny to watch but now it was just plain annoying. That guy didn't know when to quit.

The crew chose to hold their selves back for now. It looked like the captain wanted to take the matter in his own hands, and the strawhat kid had his interest only set on him.

"I've said this before and I'll repeat it again: I won't let you take my friends! You have some nasty powers, bastard. But I will beat you this time." Luffy declared again.

"So? I'd like to see you try." Chakena answered, unimpressed. What could the little guy do if all Chakena had to do was let him forget something? Like, speaking? Or fighting? Hell, if he wanted to see something really disturbing, he could even erase all of his memories. So there was nothing to worry about, this strawhat guy was just bluffing or trying to encourage himself. Well, he wasn't going to lose now; he'd already won two times. Why should it be different now?

Luffy got into fighting stance, and Chakena did as well by lifting his arms. Luffy smirked, then he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Chakena watched like a hawk. 'Is he preparing for the fight or something?'

Much to everyone's astonishment, instead of attacking, Luffy jumped into the air and landed in front of a startled Zoro. The swordsman flinched, he hadn't seen that coming; Luffy was fast.

"Huh?" Chakena blinked intelligently, arms still in the air.

Zoro sputtered, shaken from his daze. "What the-"

"You let your guard down, Zoro. You used to be a lot more careful. What happened?" Luffy asked calmly, but didn't give him a chance to reply. With one swift motion, he kicked Zoro's sword out of his hand. Zoro cursed and tried to slash Luffy with the other, but he dodged it and ripped the bandana from his head in one quick motion.

"You stupid-",

"Just lend me your bandana and sword, ne? Thanks!" With that said, Luffy grinned and leaped away as quickly as possible. Zoro tried to grab him but missed by a hair's length.

"You fucking bastard! I'll shred you to pieces if I get my hands on you!" Zoro burst out, enraged. He didn't know why, but when this guy had jumped before him, he'd remembered something... no, it wasn't quite remembering but it felt like attacking him was _wrong_. His arms had refused to move for a split second and his legs were frozen. This boy was so damn familiar!

Zoro shook his head.

Those were just excuses. How could he let his guard down like that? It was unforgivable! He lifted his other two swords and got ready to slash the jerk. Like he would let that boy steal one of them!

"You getting old, marimo?" Sanji laughed in the background.

"Shut up!" Zoro barked back. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Zoro, this is a fight between two captains. Don't interfere in anyone's fighting!" Luffy stated, dead serious. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "I promise I won't harm your sword."

Automatically, Zoro relaxed visibly, lowering his swords; he followed the order without hesitation, much to his own surprise. Something told him it was best to wait and watch. 'What am I doing? Normally I don't give a damn about what anyone says! Why is it so different this time? Who _is_ that guy?!'

Chakena only watched, mildly surprised by the turn of events. Luffy didn't look one bit more frightening with a sword.

"What are you planning? Wanna fight me with swords now?"

Luffy smirked. "Maybe."

Chakena sighed. "You don't leave me a chance. What a pain in the ass you are. You know what? I know of a way I will forever get rid of you. I'll just erase the existence of them in your mind." Chakena purposively didn't say the word _friends _as not to alert the crew.

It was meant as a threat, but failed its purpose completely. Instead, Luffy stared at him full of confidence. "I figured you'd do that sooner or later." He crouched down, ignoring the surprised stares he got from everyone. The tenseness in the atmosphere rose. Then, he tied Zoro's bandana around his upper arm and pulled the knots tightly with his teeth and other hand.

"Does he wanna imitate Zoro?" Usopp murmured from somewhere behind. He didn't want to admit it, but he was dreading what was coming next. Whatever it was, it left a heavy feeling in his stomach.

Luffy put his hand on the deck. He was calm and concentrated as he lifted Zoro's sword. There was no hesitation in his actions. He knew what he was doing, and it didn't scare him one bit. It scared the others, though.

Sanji's eyes widened. "Hell no..."

Nami's breath hitched. "W-what's he doing?"

Billy chose that moment to wake, and found himself in a bizarre situation. He blinked in wonder at Luffy before it clicked. Instantly, all the dizziness fell off him. He reached out a shaking hand. If he had known of this sooner, he would have done anything to prevent it. There had to be another way!

"Lu..Luffy! Don't do this! Stop!"

Robin widened her eyes. He wouldn't...!

Chakena startled as it dawned upon him. 'What the hell?! He isn't going to- he's just bluffing!' Growing more and more uneasy, he hurried with his speech. If Strawhat really planned on doing that, he was screwed. He had to act fast now.

"Enough of this bullshit. You won't stop me! Monkey D. Luffy! Memories of your friends: For-,"

However, Chakena never had the chance to finish it. As if bitten by a snake, the crew lunged forward, weapons forgotten as they all cried out simultaneously.

He saw them in the corner of his eyes. Now there was no turning back. He held his breath. With cold accuracy, Luffy swung down Zoro's sword and cried out. Blood splattered through the air. Everyone gasped, halting abruptly. They had been too late to stop him. The shock came crashing down on them, heavy like a ton.

Luffy had his eyes closed, watching flashes of pictures. He saw himself crouching in front of Kuma, crying. He saw a huge paw, he saw tears and two years without them.

_I won't let anyone take them again! _

_For saving them, this is nothing! _

"Are you fucking insane?!" Billy's desperate voice cut the air, sobbing. "You stupid, reckless, damn idiot!"

"NO!" Chopper shrieked loudly but the damage was done. Usopp suddenly turned green. He dashed to the railing and emptied his stomach. Sanji's cigarette dropped to the ground as he paled visibly, and Brook's jaw hit the grassy deck and he stumbled back, falling on his butt. Franky's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, feeling a wave of nausea dwelling up.

"N-no way!" Nami stuttered, sinking to her knees. Zoro stared at Luffy in shock and amazement at the same time, his own legs feeling weak. No one knew how to react and was only left to watch in complete shock as the blood dripped from Zoro's sword and stained the deck.

"No...", Chopper whimpered again as tears gathered in his eyes. Billy couldn't get up even though he wanted to get to Luffy's side. His limbs didn't listen, they felt like jelly.

"What have you DONE?!" Surprisingly, it was Robin who yelled out, but at the moment everyone was busy watching the weird stranger.

The sword had served its purpose and severed Luffy's hand from his arm cleanly.

"Agh..!" Luffy bit his tongue to prevent himself from crying out again. He was mentally prepared for the pain but it was still hard to control it. But finally, finally he was free of the spell. Luffy trembled from both the pain and relief.

"That's what he used the sword for...?" Sanji's legs shook. He didn't know why it was so frustrating; it made his mouth go dry. "The hell is up with him?!"

It all boiled up. The sudden frustration, the voice that repeatedly screamed '_no!'_ in his head. Zoro clenched his fists painfully and couldn't stop himself from losing his control. "Why would you _do_ that?!"

Luffy huffed in pain and lifted his head in slow-motion. "Y-you have a really good sword, Zoro." he pressed out and managed a smile on his pained expression. Zoro didn't have any idea how to reply to that. The fact that it had been his sword that got used for such a deed hurt him in a way it shouldn't.

Chakena was as pale as a sheet and looked ready to faint. It ha taken a bit to progress the whole scenario. Finally, he found his voice again. "Are you mad?!" He lost his composure for a moment and screeched loudly. He couldn't help it. All arrogance and calmness he had was gone.

Never in all his carrier as a pirate, had he seen something crazy and reckless like that. To cut the connection between them he did such a thing. And for what, for his friends? Chakena couldn't believe that, to him, this was sheer madness.

"You just_ hacked off your own hand_!"

**YXYYXYXYXY**

**So... don't hate me for doing that, I hope none of you will abandon the story T^T I wasn't sure whether to post it, but now I thought just what the heck, I will give it a try. And no, I wasn't inspired by the manga chapter. It was planned from the beginning. But don't worry it's gonna turn out fine.** ***Hides* Before anyone starts throwing things at me for this, I'll better start with the reviews.. **

**Son of Whitebeard: Soon, hehehe, very very soon :D **

**SilenceOfRain7: Yay and sorry for this late update... ! It is stupid as hell, lol. Hope I didn't scare you away with this chapter. True hahaha :D Sorry I didn't put more of that in, but I wanted to get to the fighting asap :) **

**Ashlielle: Haha thanks! Aw, I'm so glad he is! That is always the trickiest part, hehe, so I'm happy I managed that :) Lol that's some creepy appearance but not bad for him^_^ I don't know, I always imagine him a bit more good-looking but the arrogant face is really fitting xD Yesh I luv cookies! Thanks so much, and also for the kind review! **

**The voice of all things: You have a cool nickname :D Wow, thank you so much :,) It's reviews like yours that make it really really great to write a story, thanks for such a nice feedback! It's like a motivational burst I get haha ;)**

**lilly2011: I know, the chapter lengths are really different each time.. I try to keep them about the same length^^ Thank you, I will give my best :3 **

**Kouru-Kage: Thank you! :) True, if Luffy and Billy wouldn't be able to win against Chakena, he'd be faced with a whole load of trouble.. Probably! :D Yep, but at least he tries to understand him a little ^_^ That's right, it's worth the wait isn't it? I just have to remind myself not to be impatient all the time ;) Thanks for your review!**

**chain: Haha, danke! :) Sowas fällt mir immer mitten in der Nacht ein xD Ja, irgendwo muss ja ein Haken an der Sache sein, hehe. Seine richtigen Beweggründe muss ich mir noch überlegen, oder ob er einfach nen Knall hat.. mal sehen :D Danke fürs Kommentieren, hab mich riesig gefreut! :) **

**Hebihime-sama: Sorry for the slow update, work and stuff got in the way D: Thanks, and I'm happy you're enjoying it so far! **

**nani-onigiri: Ja, wird auch Zeit, dass sie sich erinnern ;) Ich hoffe, Luffy's Plan war nicht zu krass, ich war mir die ganze Zeit nicht sicher, ob ich das echt so posten soll, aber nun schauen wir mal... es wird auf jeden Fall ein Happy End haben, auch das mit seiner Hand :) Jep, so ein Vollar***. Aber ich freu mich schon drauf, wenn er fertig gemacht wird^^ Danke! Und hoffentlich bis zum nächsten Mal!**

**A huge Thank-you to all of you, and if I can make it I'll update at Christmas as a present ;) **

**~Neko11**


	7. We don't know why, but we do care

**Here's a quick update! Sorry it's so short, but I didn't have much time to write...so well ;) I wish you all a Merry Christmas!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

**YXYXYXYXYXYXYX**

**Chapter 7 – We don't know why, but we do care**

Luffy suddenly saw white. It was like a bright hotness had invaded his brain and blinded him. It hurt but at the same time it felt good, and Luffy knew suddenly that all his memories returned. A few seconds passed and his eyes were clenched shut; all his surroundings were gone and he couldn't hear anything but his own quickened heartbeat.

He was one again; he knew of his devil fruit, walking, his haki... it all came back to him instantly, rolling over his soul like a tidal wave of warm water. Rayleigh's words were all back as if he'd heard them just yesterday. The moment he swallowed his devil fruit, the disgusting taste... he could feel it on his tongue, and how Shanks had yelled at him... how he stretched and bounced around so naturally like he'd never done anything else.

He knew, he could remember how he loved to run and never stop and would still try to go faster and faster until his legs gave out. Luffy knew how to walk again, it was so easy, and it occurred to him that it was a ridiculous thing to forget because running was _so much fun_.

Despite the loss of his hand, Luffy smiled. Despite the pain, he felt great. He looked at his friends and noticed the shocked faces all around him. For a second, he felt really bad for being the cause of those expressions, but he knew there was no other way. And if he could save his crew, he would give all his limbs and even more.

Luffy felt nauseas and light-headed, but he was complete again. Now, Chakena wouldn't stop him anymore.

"Oh my god, oh my god... he really... ugh!" Usopp vomited again. His head was spinning and he felt miserable. He felt like there was a cold stone someone dropped in his stomach and it sank deeper and deeper, invading his body with icy coldness that left him trembling. It was horrible. That guy lost his hand! He just cut it off!

Chopper sprang out of his shock and rushed forward, wanting to treat that wound so badly right now. If he didn't, the guy would bleed out in no time. Chakena suddenly stood in his way, blocking the path between him and the stranger with a glare.

"Ch-Cha-", Chopper was roughly cut off.

"You don't wanna help the enemy, do you? Chopper." Chakena asked him none too gently in a voice that suggested no disagreeing.

Chopper gulped and his eyes drifted off to the bleeding boy. Why would his captain stop him? He knew that Chopper was a doctor, and a real doctor didn't differentiate between friend and foe. It was his job to heal people, no matter who it was. Just like Sanji would feed anyone hungry, he would treat anyone hurt.

Did Chakena forget that? Or rather, did he forbid him to act after his very important principles? Why now? Why did he act so cruel suddenly?!

"B-but he needs me!" Chopper protested weakly, unable to understand. Chakena bent down so that they were eye-to-eye. "Chopper... forget your principles." With that said, Chakena pressed his thumb against his forehead and closed his eyes. Chopper squeaked but didn't put up much of a fight, and then it was over and he cocked his head in wonder.

"Ch-Chopper-san?" Brook murmured in concern, having watched numbly.

"You... stop that!" Luffy spat but it had happened so fast Luffy didn't have the time to gather his bearings and defend Chopper. "Damn you!"

Chopper just blinked and watched Luffy warily, like he knew he wanted to do something just now but forgot what.

"I'm fine..", Chopper told them with an unsure smile.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew still tried to progress what happened. They were all in some sort of daze, swaying slightly on their feet as cold sweat broke out.

"Why would he...?" Robin covered her mouth with a hand. It was really hard to progress.

Sanji's own hands shook. This had been a huge shock, but he still didn't understand; why were they all so taken aback? Why would they all care so much for this strangers' hand?! He felt bad, like something really horrible had just happened... as if someone cut off _his_ hand, not the stranger's. But why would he give a damn? They all had witnessed so much tragedy during their lives, so many people who died or had awful wounds and this shouldn't be a sight that triggered such a strong reaction from them all. There was this great sadness that spread inside him, taking over his whole body; he wanted to deny what had just happened vehemently. Why...? Sanji's hand touched his sweaty forehead as he realized with a hitched breath, he _did_ care.

Nami tried to blink away the sudden blurriness before her eyes and touched her cheek in numb surprise.

"Tears...?" She was crying? Nami looked at her fingers as if seeing them for the very first time. The whole situation was disturbing. She sobbed as her shoulders began to shake, and Brook tried to offer some sort of comfort by laying a bony arm around her trembling body.

Luffy panted, trying to ignore the pain as he dropped Wado Ichimonji. It was a small price he head to pay after all. Sweat ran down his forehead and he stood up on shaky legs. "Before you make me forget about my friends, I'd rather cut off my hand!" He declared.

This triggered something inside the crew's minds and they all widened their eyes. Chakena was their captain, wasn't he? Then why was this weird kid fighting so hard for them? He was so desperate as to sacrifice one of his limbs without hesitation. It made them develop an enormous rage, and the insecurity grew. Maybe... just _maybe_...they really knew him?

"Ugh..!" Chakena took a step back. He himself could hardly control the trembling of his body. "D-damn!"

His eyes darted back and forth like an animal caught in a cage, and he tried to avoid to look at the severed hand on the deck. Holy heck, all the blood...! He blanched even more if that's possible and inhaled deeply to prevent himself from throwing up like Usopp had. His stomach cramped. That guy was insane... he really cut off his hand, just like that! Who would go so far? Chakena didn't understand. That boy was young, famous and strong. It would be easy to find a bunch of other people who were ready to follow him! Why did he want them back so badly?

As Chakena managed to calm himself to some point, he looked at the shaking form of Luffy. Then a crazed smile found its way to his lips.

"Y-you are truly something! You're different from all the other weaklings I've encountered so far, truly fascinating. But you won't beat me like that! You can't walk, you can't use your powers, you don't have your haki and you'll bleed to death in no time! Just look at you!" He laughed hysterically, trying to cover up the fear that began to creep into his mind like a shadow.

Luffy finally looked up and grinned at Chakena, clutching his hurt arm with a trembling hand but refusing to back down. "What the hell are you talking about? You don't have control over my memories anymore. I remember it all. I broke the connection between us!"

That did the trick. Chakena turned completely white and fell on his butt, screaming. "How do you know?! Waah! Get away from me, asshole!" He looked around in sudden panic. "Roronoa, Sanji! Quickly, help me out! Kill that freak!"

Mentioned men frowned at Chakena and didn't move from their spot.

"What are you waiting for? Protect me, I'm your captain! I saved you from Captain Morgan, didn't I?" Chakena shouted. Zoro clenched his fists when he remembered that, and moved first, lifting his swords but there was a certain hesitation to his movements and he froze again. He really didn't want to fight this kid. Sanji was the same, he shook his head to clear his mind and tapped his foot on the ground, but it was not enough to convince him. Besides, if Chakena couldn't defend himself against that kid now, then what kind of captain was he?

"Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy turned his head, glaring them down. They flinched upon hearing his voice and looked at him. "The Zoro and Sanji I know wouldn't listen to someone like him who doesn't value his friends. They would never follow a weakling!"

Chakena nearly pissed himself. "H-how can you say that, freak?!"

Luffy grinned at him cheekily. "Because I am strong!" Chakena gaped. It didn't make sense. No one had ever gone this fucking far for his crew before. It was making him sick, that kid had so much optimism. The tables had turned, but he refused to let go of his plan that easily. He wanted fame, and friends, and enjoyed the feeling of suppressing others like that. His own crew pulled a mutiny on him a long, long time ago... he never wanted to feel that insecure and alone again. Now he had a crew and he could control them as much as he wanted. He couldn't lose all that now because this individual kept on fighting, kept on getting up. He had to go down now; there had to be a limit of that kid's silly willpower.

"You stupid fuck! How can you beat me with that arm of yours?!" Luffy was in front of him in an instant, there was no time to avoid the fist that smashed into his face-

"-maybe like THIS?!" Luffy screamed furiously. "I actually have TWO ARMS!"

Chakena flew through the air, and when he landed hard, his smirk was long gone. In its place was a horrified expression, one that showed true fear and clear knowledge of his upcoming fate. Chakena knew it, it was a logical consequence, it was impossible to win now. Unless he could let the crew fight, of course.

Caught in between panic and megalomania, he rose again and grabbed jerkily at the railing for support. He laughed between huffs of exertion and his arms flailed around wildly. Luffy approached slowly, hat shadowing his face. "M-Monkey D. Luffy! Memories of your crew: Forgotten! Memories of fighting: Forgotten! Memories of-oof!"

Another punch broke his babbling and he crashed against the mast, sliding down painfully slow. He gasped and huffed, shaking and not showing his face. All his reasoning was long gone, and insanity was taking over. "You- you should forget! You shouldn't remember anything!"

"Are you dumb? As I said, I disconnected us." Luffy told him matter-of-factly, grabbing his wounded arm and clenched his teeth. "I saw through your lame devil fruit and figured you would need some sort of bond with your victim. That's why I cut it off."

Chakena's eyes widened in disbelief. "You are crazy!"

Luffy snarled. "Maybe. But right now I'm only ANGRY!" With an almighty roar, Luffy threw another punch, and it was satisfying that he didn't use haki and the guy flew around like a rag doll by raw strength alone. He could use haki now again but it wasn't necessary. Luffy enjoyed it more this way. A kick followed, and all frustration and anger was let out. Finally he could fight him and pay him back for what he did. Luffy didn't stop until the enemy didn't move.

When Chakena lay on his back, eyes closed and blood dripping from his lip, Luffy's energy sagged dramatically and his knees buckled from the blood loss. Now he was done.

Panting, he knelt beside Chakena and tried to suppress the pain now that the adrenaline was fading. The others watched, speechless. Billy wiped his face and smiled warily. He really did it... Luffy had beaten that crazed man who had started that nightmare years ago.. he'd freed him. Billy was happy and wished more than ever for his own crew to be there and witness this. Unfortunately, it was too early to celebrate.

Chakena looked dead, but he was actually still quite alive. It all happened quickly, and Luffy hadn't eaten well in a while and he'd been under some emotional pressure, not to mention his wounds. So now he was slow and exhausted. Chakena sensed his chance and shot up, grabbing Luffy's end of the arm where his hand used to be.

With sick satisfaction, Chakena squeezed, and it was agonizing. Luffy couldn't bite back the scream of pain that escaped his throat, and he pulled back quickly, but Chakena was clinging to him, tearing at his arm so much Luffy's sight blurred from the pain. He fell back, arms flailing and trying to get Chakena off, crying out.

"Luffy!" Billy shouted in horror. He wanted to get up and help, but a shadow beside him was faster and shot forward.

The memory-manipulator sneered at Luffy and at the twisted expression he was showing, but his disturbed pleasure didn't last long. The moment Luffy thought he'd lose consciousness, Chakena let go of him suddenly with a screech.

Luffy blinked, and when his sight cleared he was glad he was still awake, because what he saw was the best thing since two days. Zoro stood behind Chakena, and he looked tall, proud and pissed off. The hand with his sword still was outstretched and a deadly glare was boring through Chakena's back of the head. If looks could kill, Chakena would be burnt to a mere crisp by now.

And Luffy realized, with a small smile, that Zoro would never attack from behind... unless his captain was in danger.

Finally Luffy stood on the right side again, he was the captain and his first mate had protected him. This was how it was supposed to be. Luffy felt tears well up and he rubbed at his nose furiously.

"Zoro..," he croacked, "You...", the rest of the sentence got stuck in his throat. There was this huge lump, and Luffy found he couldn't force any words past it even if he wanted to. He swallowed, the smile never leaving his face.

Chakena hackled, surprise and pain mixing in an interesting facial expression. His head turned around. "Wha-what? Roronoa...?!" He had cut his back!

"Someone like you doesn't deserve my respect. You will leave Luffy alone." Zoro told him darkly, and even though he wasn't sure why, it felt like this was the best thing he had done in a while. He knew without really remembering that he had done the right thing to protect the boy.

Luffy didn't feel the tear that ran down his cheek. It's been a while since Zoro had said his name... no, it felt like an eternity.

Everyone else watched wide-eyed as Zoro slashed their captain. Robin grabbed her forehead. No, wait- it felt good to see Chakena being stopped. It had hurt them all more than it should have when the stranger had begun screaming in pain, and everyone had felt the immediate desire to stop it.

Slowly, their legs began moving, and they approached Chakena and the boy. Luffy looked up at them with a hopeful expression. But they only saw dark, trustful eyes, bangs underneath them that didn't belong there, tears, a lost hand because of them, and they all swallowed hard.

"He's- he's attacking your captain! I'm needing some back up against this monster!" Chakena all but shouted, looking really pitiful as he scrambled away from Zoro on all fours.

The crew regarded him with a stoic glance and without thinking, they reacted instinctively. They stood in front of Luffy, forming a wall and shielding him from Chakena. They had no memories of him, but he was the one they wanted to protect. Logically, it was wrong but it felt just so right, and their legs were frozen on the ground and wouldn't budge no matter what their brains demanded.

Chakena tried one more time, desperate. It was impossible for his spell to be broken like that. No one could do that. They couldn't remember the strawhat boy, so they shouldn't protect him! "What the hell are you doing?! I'm the one in help here! You don't even know him! This asshole is breaking us apart!"

It just broke out of them, like a volcano that erupted with great force.

"I'M GLAD HE IS!" Sanji finally screamed and kicked him. Chakena shrieked but didn't have time to talk as the rest of them began to rush at him at once in sheer rage. They were furious at Chakena, who was supposed to be their captain.

There was this unexplainable, hot anger and they wanted him off the ship _now_. All of sudden, hate clouded their sights and they roared furiously. They didn't want to follow him, even though they apparently had followed him more than two years, but it all didn't matter. If he really was the captain, then they'd gladly start a mutiny. Chakena needed to get away from that boy... All they wanted was to keep the scrawny kid... they wanted to keep _Luffy_ save.

"You won't touch him anymore!" Brook yelled.

Luffy watched, taken aback as the rest of the crew followed Zoro's example. He felt endlessly relieved as he knelt on the deck, shaking and bleeding, but happy. He was captain again, and his crew_ – his friends – _ protected him and fought against Chakena. They were his again. He smiled and wiped his snotty nose. 'I did it,' he thought, 'they are back again! See, Billy? There was a way. They belong with me, and I belong with them and no one can separate our bond.'

Because even if their minds forgot, their bodies remembered.

**YXYXYXYXYXYX**

**A yay for the Strawhat crew! :D**

**Ashlielle: It's gonna be fine, no worries :) Nope, he doesn't need to anymore, though that would be scary... yeah, he deserves that :3 Thank you~ ! *hands you a piece of cake* uhm I hope you like cake? **

**jam klaoo: Thank you so much! I was so insecure about it lol, I'm relieved you liked it! :,D **

**Valeria Aurelia: Thanks, I'm so glad! :D Ahahaha, no way, I'm totally the same! xD I'm always so scared I close my eyes but then I go another round ^_^ I never thought Oda would actually do that! Woah, really? That sounds interesting! What's it called? Yeah, there's gonne be lots of hurt/comfort later on. Hehe I googled it and there was really a cow! x3 Sorry about that, but here's a quick update! Thank you so much for your lovely review :)**

**SilenceOfRain7: Thank you! I'm so glad! :,) Heck yes, that totally took me by surprise! O.O I really didn't see that coming! But it's an awesome movie! I know, shitty cliffhanger, but I worked hard to update today so here it is ;) Yep I had, thanks~ :) **

**okinu: Ahaha, thank you! :) **

**Guest: Thanks alot~ :3 Here you go**

**Thank you so much, it was like an early Christmas present ;-) Again, Merry Christmas guys! :)**


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